U.S. High School Grad Rate Highest Since 1976 [Study]

Education Department head says blacks and Latinos still have a ways to go

America’s high school graduation rate is the highest since 1976, the U.S. Department of Education said in a study released Tuesday. But the glass is half empty; more than a fifth of student are failing to get their diploma in the standard four years. The national dropout rate fell about 3 percent from last year, with 3.1 million students nationwide earning their high school diplomas in 2010. Arizona, Mississippi and Washington, D.C. have the highest dropout rates in the nation. African American and Latino communities still face an “unsustainably high” dropout rate, official said. Education Secretary Arne Duncan said the rise of students completing their education is a sign of greater competition for new jobs in the struggling economy. "There's no young person who aspires to be a high school dropout," Duncan said. "When someone drops out, it's a symptom of a problem. It's not the problem itself. Something has gone radically wrong." (Associated Press)

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