First the good news.
For the third consecutive year, Florida’s high school graduation rate has risen. “Florida’s education system continues to be a rising star in our nation,” gushed Gov. Charlie Crist.
Now the, well, rest of that news. The rate of graduation for Florida students within four years of entering ninth grade now stands at 76.3 percent. That means nearly one in four Florida students (23.7 percent) doesn’t graduate. More than a third of black students (35.1 percent) and more than a quarter of Hispanic students (27.9 percent) don’t yet graduate.
A more accurate context. Graduation rates are less embarrassing than they used to be. Good. But we’re a “rising star?”