Education, Graduation | featured news

The percentage of students at public high schools who graduate on time has reached its highest level in nearly 40 years, according to the most recent federal government estimates released Tuesday. Based on data collected from the states for the Class of 2010, the National Center for Education Statistics estimated that 78 percent of students across the country earned a diploma within four years of starting high school. The graduation rate was last at that level in 1974, officials said.

Aggressive efforts to prevent students such as Burke from dropping out contributed to a modest 3.5 percent increase nationally in the high school graduation rate from 2001 to 2009, according to research to be presented Monday at the Grad Nation summit in Washington. The event was organized by the children's advocacy group America's Promise Alliance.

California students continued to make incremental gains in meeting minimal graduation standards, with 94.6 percent of the Class of 2011 passing the high school exit exam.