01.14.2016 | Public News Service | New Education Department data show the rate inched up just under 2 percent to 78.1 percent for the class that entered in 2011 and graduated in 2015. This comes as state education officials consider new pathways to graduation other than standardized tests, which Abja Midha, project director at Advocates for Children of New York, says could help close the state’s achievement gap. “It’s our position that there needs to be more flexibility and that the current one-size-fits-all approach that the state uses unfairly disadvantages more vulnerable student populations,” she states. Despite the increase, white students are far more likely to receive a high school diploma than black or Hispanic students and graduation remains out of reach for many students with disabilities. Read article