Group Finds California Miscalculated HS Dropout Rates [View All]

[Kadie]

Group Finds California Miscalculated HS Dropout Rates
Harvard Researchers Use Different Methodology To Calculate Rate

POSTED: 3:37 pm PST March 24, 2005
UPDATED: 3:43 pm PST March 24, 2005

LOS ANGELES -- California's high school dropout rates were miscalculated, and more accurate figures show that only half of male Hispanic and black students in the state earned regular high school diplomas, a civil rights group said.

The state has reported a graduation rate of 87 percent for 2002, but researchers with The Civil Rights Project of Harvard University using a different methodology said Wednesday the rate is closer to 71 percent.

Graduation rates for minority students were significantly lower - 57 percent for blacks, 60 percent for Hispanics and 52 percent for American Indians.

For minority males, the figures were even worse, according to the group's statistics that reflect the percentage of 9th grade students who graduated with their 12 grade class. Fifty percent of blacks earned high school diplomas, compared to 54 percent of Hispanics and 46 percent of American Indians.

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