STOCK MARKET WATCH -- Wednesday, 23 January 2013

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24. U.S. High School Graduation Rate at Highest Since 1970s

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-01-22/u-s-high-school-graduation-rate-at-highest-since-1970s.html

U.S. students graduated from public high schools at the highest rate since the 1970s, with the largest leap for Hispanic students, government data show.

In 2009-2010, 78.2 percent of students earned a diploma after four years, compared with 75.5 percent the year before, according to a U.S. Education Department report released today.

President Barack Obama’s administration, many states and education and business groups have been pushing to improve high- school graduation rates, which stagnated in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s and fell behind the nation’s economic rivals. While the government said the reasons for the improvement aren’t clear, researchers credited elementary school preparation and better tracking of potential dropouts.

“It’s incredibly important,” Bob Wise, the former governor of West Virginia, said in a phone interview. “This is hard work, and there’s some progress being made.”