Should children be required to attend school past the age of sixteen?

I absolutely believe that school should be required until you are a legal adult. The prospects for somebody without a high school diploma are grim at best. There are hardly well paying jobs out there for somebody without a Bachelors degree much less somebody without a High school diploma. The average High school dropout makes 10,000 dollars less a year than the average High school graduate. Also take into account the significant spike in crime rates with the uneducated people. We need to develop more assistance for needy families. Even with the cost of the assistance taken into account we would still come out ahead by billions of dollars. I think education is key to any Country, state, city or communities' success.