From Carolina Journal comes Barry Smith’s report on North Carolina ranking 26th nationally in terms of the percentage of students who graduate within four years. The ranking is for the 2010-2011 year. JLF Director of Education Studies Terry Stoops assesses what North Carolina’s graduation ranking means, and doesn’t mean.
Stoops said he is concerned about what graduating and obtaining a high school diploma actually represents, since a significant number of high school graduates entering the state’s community college system need to take remedial courses.
“Sixth-five percent of high school graduates that enroll in North Carolina community colleges immediately after graduation have to take one or more remedial courses,” Stoops said. “These remedial courses are math, reading, and English, so the basics.”
Stoops added, “You would suspect that those who graduate from high school that don’t go on to higher education also lack the basic skills of reading, writing, and math.”
“It shows just how meaningless a high school diploma is,” Stoops said. “A high school diploma doesn’t indicate mastery of the basics. It’s clear from those remediation rates that a high school diploma doesn’t indicate any mastery of skills or knowledge.”
