New Rules Target Dropout Rates

hosted.ap.org — High schools are coming under pressure from the federal government to improve the nation's dismal dropout rate - one in four students. Schools and states now must track and lift the graduation rates for all students, including minorities and students with disabilities, under rules issued by Education Secretary Margaret Spellings. A school might have a high graduation rate but still have a low rate for black or Hispanic students or for kids with disabilities. Making schools responsible for progress in every group of students puts pressure on schools to improve. The new rules are an attempt to extend the No Child Left Behind education law to the high school grades, and they come in the waning days of the Bush administration, which made the law a signature domestic achievement.

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