Despite some progress made by several cities from 1995-2005, the average graduation rate of the 50 largest cities is well below the national average of 71 percent, according to Cities in Crisis 2009: Closing the Graduation Gap.
Only about half (53 percent) of all young people in the nation’s 50 largest cities are graduating from high school on time.
Nationwide, nearly one in three U.S. high school students fails to graduate with a diploma. In total, approximately 1.2 million students drop out each year – averaging 7,000 every school day or one every 26 seconds. Among minority students, the problem is even more severe with nearly 50 percent of African American and Hispanic students not completing high school on time.To view the full report, click here.
