Number of 'dropout factory' high schools in the U.S. drops, report says

Source: CNN

The number of "dropout factory" high schools in the United States is decreasing, according to a report from the Building a Grad Nation Summit being held this week in Washington.

Between 2009 and 2010, the number of "dropout factories" -- the term used in the report for those high schools that graduate 60% or less of the number of freshmen who reported for class four years earlier -- dropped from 1,634 to 1,550, continuing a trend that has accellerated in recent years, the report says.

It is estimated that around one-quarter of students in the United States do not complete high school. The Grad Nation campaign has a goal of attaining a 90% graduation rate by the year 2020.

Only the state of Wisconsin currently reaches that benchmark, although Vermont is less than half a percentage point away, the report says.

Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/19/us/dropout-factory-report/index.html