HOW DOES LOCAL GRAD RATE RATE?

President Obama says demanding more from teachers and students is paying off with a record high school graduation rate. Vickie Spanos of the Kern High School District says the local grad rate of 86.9 percent is above the national average of 83.2 percent and she believes cooperation is helping kids not only graduate, but succeed. Spanos says schools have been creating a better balance between test score success and gaining skills for college and jobs. The dropout rate has gone down locally from 11.1 percent to just 9 percent. African-American dropouts in the KHSD is 25 percent below the state average.

Sean Michael Lisle