Jay P. Greene and Marcus A. Winters, Manhattan Institute
February 2005
Jay Greene's latest review of graduation rates paints a stark picture of the national graduation rate and finds wide discrepancies in achievement levels between racial and ethnic groups. Never mind the government figures; Greene finds that only 71 percent of public school students graduated with a regular diploma in 2002, down from 72 percent in 1991. And while 78 percent of white students graduated with a regular diploma, only 56 percent of African-American students and 52 percent of Hispanic students did the same. The study did find a slight increase in the proportion of students graduating with the skills needed to succeed in college, up from 25 percent in 1991 to 34 percent in 2002. Greene attributes that gain to "the increased standards and accountability programs over the last decade, which have required students to take more challenging courses required for admission to college without pushing those students to drop out of high school." But again, while 40 percent of white students were ready for college, only 23 percent of African-American students and 20 percent of Hispanic students were similarly prepared. You can read the full study on the web by clicking here.