Dive Brief:

• The GradNation campaign sent a letter to Congress asking that legislators continue to hold states accountable for their graduation rates.
• The letter —​ from a coalition comprised of America’s Promise Alliance, Civic Enterprises, Everyone Graduates Center, and Alliance for Excellent Education — expressed concern that, with the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, states would no longer have to report and answer for their graduation rates.
• Currently, states must set graduation targets and report their progress.

Dive Insight:

The last four U.S. presidents have all made calls for action, hoping to see the national graduation rate hit 90%. GradNation believes the current accountability measures can help make this target a reality. In fact, the U.S. Department of Education last week released new data showing the nation's graduation rate hit a new peak of 81% in the 2012-13 school year. GradNation believes current accountability measures have influenced this rise.

Of course there are arguments for why graduation should not be the only focus. One issue with weighing graduation rates so high is it breeds a fast-food school culture where students are pushed along — all the way up to graduation — even if they are not academically prepared. When placing emphasis on graduation rates and not the actual knowledge accrued, there can potentially be a disconnect.