Cleveland Schools on Academic Watch

(Cleveland, Ohio) Public education continues to endure troubling times in the city of Cleveland.

After a year of celebrating gains in achievement, the Cleveland schools are braced to drop in state rankings to academic watch, the equivalent of a D grade.

On a positive note, and somehow it's considered good news, the graduation rate jumped seven percentage points to 61.9 percent. I'd call it mixed news. Although the rate increased by seven percent, it still is dismally low.

Furthermore, it's reported that the graduation rate is the highest ever for Cleveland public schools. That is hard to believe. Even if one has to go back to the early 20th Century, I have to believe that the public school system in Cleveland had, at some point, a higher graduation rate.

Companion post at EdWatch.