We now know that Florida’s graduation rate climbed 3 percentage points in the last year. It now stands at a record 75.4 percent.
In a written statement, Gov. Charlie Crist was moved to declare: “I am so proud of our schools, teachers, and students for this tremendous achievement.”
I don’t mean to be a glass-is-a-quarter-empty guy, but aren’t we also noting that one in four Florida students still doesn’t graduate from high school? (But it’s one in five in Hillsborough County.) And Florida does count diluted GED-diplomas in the overall number. It also counts SAT scores (as low as 780) for those failing the FCAT at least three times.
We seem, finally, to be heading in the right direction, but I think we should have held the applause a little longer.