Only about 70% of students nationwide are graduating from high school according to a study released this week by the Editorial Projects in Education Research Center. This is a staggering number since many jobs require a high school diploma or more.

And while many people would like to pin point a particular type of person as a high school drop out, school administrators say any student can fall victim.

Todd Bohm the assistant Principal at DC Everest High School says, "I don't think you can necessarily paint a picture and say this is the type of person that drops out of high school."

For the 30% of students who do drop out, administrators say it is possible to have a productive career, but there are more challenges along the way.

Bohm also says, "The high school diploma is really just a start. It's that foundation. It's that building block for everything else you want to do in your life."

In a study released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, a full-time worker age 25 and older with less than a high school diploma had an average weekly earning of about 400 dollars. It says that's about 180 dollars less than someone with a high school diploma. And more than 500 dollars less than someone with post-secondary schooling.

School officials say they understand traditional schooling is not for everyone and educators are working on finding more ways for students to learn saying education is no longer thought of as a cookie cutter style anymore.

According to the Marathon County Life Report, all the public schools in the county have exceeded the overall state graduation rate since 1998. Marathon County has less than 1% of students dropping out, compared to the state drop out rate of almost 2%.