Graduation Gap, Dropout Dance

U.S. to Require States to Use a Single School Dropout Formula NYT
The adoption of a federal graduation formula would correct one of the most glaring weaknesses of the federal No Child Left Behind law.

'Crisis' graduation gap found between cities, suburbs USA Today
The likelihood that a ninth-grader in one of the nation's biggest cities will clutch a diploma four years later amounts to a coin toss — not much better than a 50-50 chance, new research finds.Cross into the suburbs, and the odds improve dramatically.

Report: Urban students face rough road to graduation CNN
Seventeen of the nation's 50 largest cities had high school graduation rates lower than 50 percent, with the lowest graduation rates reported in Detroit, Michigan; Indianapolis, Indiana and Cleveland, Ohio, according to a report released Tuesday.