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Article: Va., Md. Revising Diploma Counts; Estimates of High School Graduation Rates Seen as Inaccurate
- Article from:
- The Washington Post
- Article date:
- February 28, 2006
- Author:
CopyrightThis material is published under license from the Washington Post. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Washington Post. (Hide copyright information)
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Between the start of freshman year and graduation, the class of
2005 at Frederick Douglass High School in Prince George's County
shrank by more than one-third. Yet according to school officials, 90
percent of the class graduated.
Driven by a conviction that graduation rates are widely overstated
in the region's public schools, legislators in Maryland and Virginia
are seeking a more accurate count of how many students earn diplomas
four years after they enter high school, one of the most vital --
but most poorly tracked -- indicators in public education. Bills
before both legislatures, along with a resolution passed last fall by
the D.C. school board, are part of a national effort to ...