Grad Rates Don’t Necessarily = College and Career Readiness
January 24, 2018
MinnPost reports that, in light of the U.S. Department of Education’s recent approval of Minnesota’s ESSA plan, “establishing high graduation expectations seems essential to ensuring the state has a more equitable public education system.” But the gains so often celebrated on this issue are being interpreted without the proper context. “While graduation rates are on the rise, proficiency rates in math and reading have remained relatively stagnant,” writes education reporter Erin Hinrichs. While the state’s recently-approved ESSA plan does include academic growth and proficiency goals, “the historical disconnect between these two data points has some worried” that trying to advance “an aggressive graduation rate goal may continue to detract attention from a more pressing dilemma.” Which is: “How valuable is a high school diploma if it offers no assurance that graduates are entering the workforce or postsecondary system well equipped with a solid academic foundation?”