The Education Department announced that in 2012, public-high-school graduation rates reached an all-time high of 80 percent—and that if states can maintain the speed, we could reach 90 percent by 2020. But before you hop off the treadmill and break out the celebratory donuts, bear in mind that an 80 percent graduation rate still means that one in five kids never crosses the finish line. Also remember that urban areas with greater concentrations of low-income students still have grad rates in the 60–70 percent range. Still, this is positive change all around. Let’s keep up the pace!
In a recent New York Times article, David Leonhardt notes that the “behavior gap” between boys and girls is even bigger than that between the rich and the poor. Entering Kindergarten, girls are more sensitive, persistent, flexible, and independent than their male peers—and the gap only grows as the kids continue through elementary school. In an economy that rewards knowledge and interpersonal skills, and with the United States losing its global lead in middle-class pay, Leonhardt expresses concern that boys’ struggles could mean long-term trouble for the American economy—a sobering thought indeed.
