News on Graduation and Dropout
Media and Other Reports Related to Graduation & Dropout
The nation's overall graduation rate may have reached a new high of 82 percent, but many states are still doing a dismal job in getting students with disabilities across the high school finish line on time with a standard diploma.
Fewer than half of the students with disabilities in Alaska, the District of Columbia, Georgia, Louisiana,
Just 49 test-takers in Wyoming in 2015 opted to take the GED (graduate equivalency diploma) test, according to preliminary numbers released Jan. 1.
But another 1,993 took the High School Equivalency Test (HiSET).
Wyoming began offering HiSET in 2014 after the U.S. Department of Education began allowing states to offer alternatives to the GED.
An education report showing modest gains in most states’ high school graduation rates generated significant coverage over the latest news cycle, including national reports and a greater volume of reports on how individual states performed. Reports tend to be positive in tone, excepting those from states which saw declining figures. The Washington Post (10/20, Brown) reports that the report showed that “graduation rates ticked up in a majority of states in 2014,” even as racial disparities in most states’ graduation rates declined. The piece notes that national figures are not yet ready, and reports that Education Secretary Arne Duncan “said that the preliminary state numbers suggest that the country is on track for a rise in graduation rates for the third year in a row.” The Post reports that 36 states saw increases, while five states and Washington, DC saw decreases.
The AP (10/20, Kerr) reports that the preliminary data show that most “states also are showing gains for black and Hispanic students.” Education said that Delaware, Alabama, Oregon, West Virginia, and Illinois showed the strongest gains.
Education Week (10/20, Klein, Ujifusa) reports that education said it won’t know until early next year whether the overall national rate increased, though they “appear to be on track to rise for the third year in a row.” This piece also quotes Duncan about the positive steps the U.S. is making.
The Wall Street Journal (10/20, Kesling, Subscription Publication) reports that Duncan called for further work to improve graduation rates and narrow achievement gaps, along with improving school climate issues that can impact achievement.
The Huffington Post (10/19, Klein) reports that the data, released by the National Center for Education Statistics, show that “the graduation rate gap between white and black students and white and Hispanic students is decreasing in many states,” characterizing this as “a positive sign.” The Post reports that NCES “is expected to release more graduation data in upcoming months, including the nation’s latest overall high school graduation rate.” US News & World Report (10/19) also covers this story at the national level.
The link discussed in the article is here: http://gradnation.org/report/
The Texas Tribune (2/20) reports that according to Federal data, for the high school class of 2013, Texas had the second-highest graduation rate in the US. The state had 88% of Class of 2013 students earn their high school diplomas, compared with a US average of 81%.
Houston Public Media reports that the US average of 81% was “an all-time high.” Other states with 88% graduation rates include Wisconsin, North Dakota, New Jersey, and Nebraska. However, Iowa led the US with a 90% graduation rate. On the other end of the spectrum, the District of Columbia had the lowest graduation rate, at less than 66%.
February 12, 2015: The Washington Post
Raising state-mandated math and science course graduation requirements may increase high school dropout rates without a meaningful effect on college enrollment or degree attainment.