Chicago Tribune

A scant 16 years ago, Chicago Public Schools students were just as likely to drop out of high school as they were to graduate. Half finished, half didn't. An appalling coin flip.

Today an astonishing turnaround gains steam: Almost 3 in 4 CPS students graduate, and that number is projected to rise, according to a new study from the University of Chicago Consortium on School Research. And, no, these higher rates are not the result of setting the academic bar lower, the study says...