Iowa tied for No. 2 in high school graduation rate
02/15/2005 10:53:30 AM
Posted: Tuesday, February 15, 2005
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) -- Iowa tied for second in graduation rates nationwide with 85 percent of its students receiving their high school diploma, according to a report released Tuesday.
Iowa was well above the national rate of 71 percent, according to the study by the Florida-based Manhattan Institute for Policy Research.
New Jersey was No. 1 with 89 percent of its students receiving their diploma. Iowa tied with North Dakota and Wisconsin for second place. Georgia ranked last with a 56 percent graduation rate in 2002.
The Iowa Department of Education reported an 89 percent graduation rate for 2002, saying that amount went up one percentage point in 2003.
State officials said their numbers differ from the policy research center's rate because of the way each ninth grade student is counted and how officials calculate how many receive diplomas four year later.
Lee Tack, with the state education department, said a new student tracking system being implemented this year should provide a truer picture of graduation rates.
According to the institute, minority students are less likely to graduate than their white classmates nationwide and in Iowa.
The report shows 87 percent of white Iowa students graduated in 2002 compared with 61 percent of black students. No rate was reported for Hispanics.
That differs from Iowa's Condition of Education report which shows 91 percent of white students graduated in 2002 compared with 71 percent of blacks and 68 percent of Hispanics.
Information from: The Gazette, http://www.gazetteonline.com/
AP-CS-02-15-05 1140EST
Iowa was well above the national rate of 71 percent, according to the study by the Florida-based Manhattan Institute for Policy Research.
New Jersey was No. 1 with 89 percent of its students receiving their diploma. Iowa tied with North Dakota and Wisconsin for second place. Georgia ranked last with a 56 percent graduation rate in 2002.
The Iowa Department of Education reported an 89 percent graduation rate for 2002, saying that amount went up one percentage point in 2003.
State officials said their numbers differ from the policy research center's rate because of the way each ninth grade student is counted and how officials calculate how many receive diplomas four year later.
Lee Tack, with the state education department, said a new student tracking system being implemented this year should provide a truer picture of graduation rates.
According to the institute, minority students are less likely to graduate than their white classmates nationwide and in Iowa.
The report shows 87 percent of white Iowa students graduated in 2002 compared with 61 percent of black students. No rate was reported for Hispanics.
That differs from Iowa's Condition of Education report which shows 91 percent of white students graduated in 2002 compared with 71 percent of blacks and 68 percent of Hispanics.
Information from: The Gazette, http://www.gazetteonline.com/
AP-CS-02-15-05 1140EST
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