The advocacy group Alliance for Excellent Education has studied the 45 largest metropolitan areas in the U.S., finding an estimated 600,000 minority students dropped out of the Class of 2008. The study indicates that cutting that number in half would generate $2.3 billion in increased earnings nationally for the Class of 2008. Taking Sacramento, California, as an example, the study found that lowering the dropout rates of minority students in the city would drive $223 million into the local economy via increased spending and home and car purchases. Additional findings for Sacramento include:• An estimated 7100 minority students dropped out of the class of 2008. Of those, 2000 were Latino, 650 were Asian American, 550 were African American, and 50 were American Indian.• Cutting the drop-out numbers in half would likely increase the earnings of Latino students by $14 million, Asian Americans by $5.4 million, African American students by $3.9 million, and American Indian students by $500,000.• Cutting those numbers in half would also likely increase home sales of Latinos, Asian Americans, African Americans, and American Indians by $79 million and car sales by $1.23 million.Source: District Administration