Studies Decry Faulty Graduation Data, Rising Dropout Rates.

This article presents information on a pair of recent reports, which suggests that high school graduation rates may be worse than they appear in the South and across the United States. The Education Trust report, released on June 23, 2005, contends that states in all regions of the country calculate graduation rates in ways that understate dropout problems. The report also criticizes states for setting low targets for improving graduation rates under the federal No Child Left Behind Act, and the federal government for letting them does so. Falling graduation rates in many Southern states may threaten the region's progress in improving student test scores, access to preschool, and other advances.