Graduation rates. We all know that defining and measuring them has been the source of much contentious discussion in recent years. A common graduation-rate measure for all states was finally codified into federal regulations in 2008, but the debate is hardly over. Should those graduation rates be used as part of school accountability systems? If so, how? Won't doing so just create incentives for schools to graduate kids who haven't met the standards? After all, what does it mean to be a high school graduate anyway? We decided to put together a primer, "The Great Graduation-Rate Debate ," to explain this rather complicated topic in plain English. We cover: the main variables that differentiate graduation rates, how they're calculated, where the information comes from, the impact of NCLB on this debate, and, of course, the key questions that still linger. We hope that you'll find this to be a valuable resource as this issue undoubtedly continues to rise. Read the full report here .
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