New numbers show falling standards in American high schools
Low-achieving pupils may suffer the most
SPRINGFIELD, in MASSACHUSETTS, might seem an improbable setting for an education miracle. The city with a population of 155,000 along the Connecticut river has a median household income half the state average; violent crime is common. Yet graduation rates at the city’s high schools are surging. Between 2007 and 2022 the share of pupils at the Springfield High School of Science and Technology who earned a diploma in four years jumped from 50% to 94%; at neighbouring Roger Putnam Vocational Technical Academy it nearly doubled to 96%.
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This article appeared in the United States section of the print edition under the headline “Soft bigotry”
United States March 16th 2024
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From the March 16th 2024 edition
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