‘Grad Nation,” a report released last Monday by Colin Powell’s nonprofit group America’s Promise, hails New York’s “double-digit gains in high school graduation rates.”
It cites a seemingly laudable spike in the percentage of diplomas handed out throughout the state — from 60 percent in 2002 to 74 percent in 2009.
Cause for celebration?
More like alarm, we’d say.
Because — combined with other, less glowing data — what “Grad Nation” really reveals is that more kids in New York have been let loose to the outside world . . . totally unprepared for what comes next.
How is that a good thing?
Fact is, according to the State Education Department, only 37 percent of Empire State students leave high school “college- or career-ready” within four years.
That’s it.
In the city, only 33 percent leave sufficiently prepared in that time.
So why are so many kids being set free — just to get graduation numbers up? To make school brass look good?
It’s shameful.
No wonder CUNY reported just this year that fully 80 percent of city high-school graduates who enroll in its community colleges need remedial work in math, reading, writing — or all of the above.
The university, in other words, finds itself forced to finish the job that the city has failed to complete.
What’s happening — as The Post has often reported — is that students essentially have been “socially graduated,” via officially sanctioned scams like “credit recovery” that allow bonus graduation points through sham make-up work.
Last month, a city Department of Education audit identified problems in 55 of the 60 high schools it examined, with test scores inflated or improper credits awarded.
Hundreds of students apparently got diplomas without meeting basic standards.
Meanwhile, as even the State Education Department admitted two years ago, tests were dumbed down for much of the last decade — calling into question both “gains” in academic advancement and the value of high-school diplomas.
So while “Grad Nation” salutes an uptick in graduation rates, the trend should actually be deplored: After all, if kids aren’t ready, fewer of them should be passed along — not more of them.
Ideally, of course, New York’s schools would figure out how to boost readiness rates.
If they did, then a high graduation rate would genuinely be good news.
Until then, though, there’s little cause to cheer the “good” news.