States’ Data Obscure How Few Finish High School

March 20, 2008

When it comes to high school graduation rates, Mississippi keeps two sets of books.

One team of statisticians working at the state education headquarters here recently calculated the official graduation rate at a respectable 87 percent, which Mississippi reported to Washington. But in another office piled with computer printouts, a second team of number crunchers came up with a different rate: a more sobering 63 percent.

By SAM DILLON

Full Story: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/20/education/20graduation.html?_r=1&oref=slogin