Education officials nationwide are examining their state’s reported high school graduation rates. This comes in the aftermath of a ProPublica investigation showing that some schools are manipulating their data.
The Tampa Bay Times reports that Florida announced on March 22 an investigation of schools districts throughout the state, after the report found the practice at Orlando schools.
ProPublica said school officials are “dodging accountability” by moving seniors unlikely to graduate to alternative charter schools operated by for-profit companies.
Florida Education Commissioner Pam Stewart directed her department to investigate what happened to seniors who weren’t counted in final graduation rates.
In December 2016, the Florida Department of Education touted its increased graduation rate, which reportedly increased by 2.8 percent over 2015. Official state data shows graduation rates have increased year over year for more than a decade.
SOURCE: Tampa Bay Times, ProPublica
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