Minneapolis school district dispute graduation rate report
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Minneapolis school officials dispute a report released on Tuesday putting the district among the worst performers in the nation when it comes to graduation rates.
Minneapolis research officials admit disparity in achievement for students of color, but they say it's inaccurate to portray the district as one of the worst in the nation for graduation rates.
America's Promise Alliance ranks Minneapolis as 45th out of 50 cities in terms of graduation rates, putting the district's rate well below the average.
But Minneapolis Public Schools researcher David Heistad said not only are the numbers the report uses four years old, but they inaccurately consider students who transfer as dropouts.
"We have a lot more kids moving to charter schools and moving to suburban districts and therefore we had a decline in enrollment during that period of time. So it confounds dropouts with any kind of mobility," Heistad said.
The district's most recent official reports showed graduation rates of nearly 67 percent, more than 20 points above what the America's Promise numbers show.
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