Hillary Clinton's Statement on Recent Graduation Rate Study

"Today, the America's Promise Alliance released a special report called "Cities in Crisis: A Special Analytic Report on High Schools in Crisis." This report highlights a pressing problem facing our nation – millions of young people are not completing high school on time, a situation that has serious ramifications for their future and our nation's economic competitiveness. According to the report, conventional wisdom says that 85% of students finish high school on time when in fact only 70% do nationwide. And this nationwide statistic disguises the reality for millions of young people living in our major cities. The graduation rate in America's 50 largest cities is 51.8%. On average, there is a 17-point gap between the graduation rate in cities and in their neighboring suburbs. This report illustrates the stark inequities between students who live geographically close but worlds apart from one another.

"Hillary has called the drop-out rate a crisis of untapped potential. In February, she put forth a bold plan to cut the drop-out rate in half among students of color. Hillary's plan would provide $500 million in financial incentives to attract and retain excellent teachers and school leaders in high-need areas, adopt a standard system for measuring the high-school graduation rate so that we can accurately measure the progress being made, and invest in innovative programs, such as early college high schools and multiple pathways to graduation. Hillary will also invest in efforts to identify at-risk students early on and track their progress in order to give them mentors and other interventions that can keep them on track. She'll also encourage states to align their P-16 curriculum with the state's education standards and workforce expectations, so that children can move from one grade to the next with the skills needed to succeed beyond high school. And she'll start early, by expanding Head Start and creating universal Pre-K for all four years old, to enable all students to start school ready to learn.

"Hillary believes that every young person, regardless of the circumstances into which they are born, should be able to succeed in life beyond high school no matter which path they choose. The report released today illustrates that we have a long road ahead in order to ensure equitable educational opportunities for all."