Dropping Out in Dallas

The nonprofit America's Promise Alliance of which Colin Powell is the founding chair, this morning released a report titled Cities in Crisis: A Special Analytic Report on High School Graduation, which disputes the notion that 85 percent of all high school students get their diplomas. Says the study, it's more...

By Robert Wilonsky

April 1, 2008

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The nonprofit America's Promise Alliance of which Colin Powell is the founding chair, this morning released a report titled Cities in Crisis: A Special Analytic Report on High School Graduation, which disputes the notion that 85 percent of all high school students get their diplomas. Says the study, it's more like 70 percent -- though in Dallas, it's far, far below that figure. Indeed, of the 50 major metropolitan areas included in the study, Dallas ranks 44th, with a graduation rate of 44.4 percent -- for the 2003-2004 school year, at least. But, notes the study, there are "striking differences between schools situated in urban and suburban environments." --Robert Wilonsky

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