Do States Overstate Grad Rates?
The New York Times website has an interesting story today that says many states report overly optimistic graduation rates to the feds, but use the real figures at home, altogether clouding our view of how bad the dropout problem actually is.
From the Sam Dillon-penned piece:
"Like Mississippi, many states use an inflated graduation rate for federal reporting requirements under the No Child Left Behind law and a different one at home. As a result, researchers say, federal figures obscure a dropout epidemic so severe that only about 70 percent of the one million American students who start ninth grade each year graduate four years later.
California, for example, sends to Washington an official graduation rate of 83 percent but reports an estimated 67 percent on a state Web site. Delaware reported 84 percent to the federal government but publicized four lower rates at home."
It's interesting; read it all if you have time.