Anya Kamenetz:

To find out, NPR Ed enlisted the help of 14 reporters at member stations around the country. We identified three major ways that states and districts try to improve their graduation rates.

1 Stepping in early to keep kids on track.

2 Lowering the bar by offering alternate and easier routes when students falter.

3 Gaming the system by moving likely dropouts off the books, transferring or misclassifying them.

Commentary on Madison’s recent graduation rate rhetoric.