One of the most dramatic divides in civic health is dependent upon levels of education. Individuals with college degrees are 9-17 points ahead civically of individuals with no college experience. The divide between college graduates and high school dropouts has been as great as 24 percentage points and was 15 points in 2004.

While the gaps between college graduates and people without college experience or high school diplomas shrank from 1975 to 1999, these gaps have widened significantly since then. College graduates are much more likely than their less educated peers to vote, volunteer in their communities, read newspapers, trust one another and key institutions, and participate in a civic group.

After the 1976 election, almost three quarters of college graduates said they had voted, compared to just under half of high school dropouts. By 2004, turnout among college graduates had slid 10 points, to 62 percent. But turnout for high school dropouts had fallen 16 points, to 31% -half the rate of their college educated counterparts.

According to the Current Population Survey’s data, from 2001 to 2004, college graduates were more than 4 times as likely to volunteer regularly as high school dropouts (43% to 10%). In 1975, more than three quarters of college graduates attended club meetings at which they could address common issues and develop human ties and networks. Thirty years later, less than half (47%) attended club meetings annually. But the decline was much steeper for people who left high school. In 1975, almost half of adults without high school diplomas attended club meetings. The figure dropped to 15 percent in 2005.

All Americans have withdrawn from regular "public work" in their communities tackling issues of common concern but the decline has been most pronounced among people with the least education. In 1975, most college graduates (58 %) had worked on a community project within the last year. By 2005, that proportion had been cut to 35% a 40% drop. For those without high school degrees, the decline was from 32% to 15%, a drop of almost 55%. Today, few high school dropouts participate in community projects -an especially serious problem for the hundreds of communities in which the dropout rate is high.

College graduates dominate everyday American community life; high school dropouts are almost completely missing. Half of the Americans who attend club meetings and half of those who say they work on community projects are college graduates today. Only 3 percent of these active citizens are high-school dropouts. Thirty years ago, the situation was very different. In 1975, only about one in five active participants was a college graduate, while more than one in ten was a high school dropout.

For the most part, the least educated are no longer part of the Tocquevillian civil society in which they had traditionally participated. The composition of civil society has partly changed because college graduates have become more numerous. But unnoticed in these broader demographic changes, and more alarming, is that the rate of civic participation has fallen more steeply among the least educated than among the college educated.

Focusing on increasing high school and college graduation rates would yield a double reward providing them with educational skills needed for employment and building their social capital skills that would help individuals find jobs, lead healthy and happy lives, and improve their communities.