A study on graduation rates at New York City high schools has found that a student’s 8th grade attendance rate is the strongest predictor of whether that student will later graduate with his or her peers.
Research by the New York City-based Campaign for Fiscal Equity found that students who were English-language learners, were overage for their grades, had physical or learning disabilities, or scored poorly on 8th grade reading and mathematics exams were also less likely to graduate.
In addition, it says, students in those high-risk groups sometimes were clumped together in schools: At 30 schools, more than half of students scored at the lowest levels on state tests.
