Latest local news, weather and high school sports from the Midlands

Wednesday, January 23, 2013  High school drop out rates are down across the Nation and in South Carolina.

Tuesday, January 22, 2013  The nation's high school graduation rate is the highest since 1976, but more than a fifth of students are still failing to get their diploma in four years, reveals an Education Department study.

Friday, July 13, 2012  SC high school dropout rate declines slightly

Monday, March 19, 2012  Aggressive efforts to prevent students from dropping out contributed to a modest 3.5 percentage point increase nationally in the high school graduation rate from 2001 to 2009, according to research presented Monday at the Grad Nation summit in Washington.

Monday, March 19, 2012  AT&T executives are visiting a Columbia school to talk about a program they hope will help boost South Carolina's high school graduation rate.

Monday, March 19, 2012  A new education report shows South Carolina has improved its high school dropout rates.

Thursday, November 10, 2011  More of South Carolina's schools and school districts reached "excellent" status on their 2011 state report cards, as areas of high poverty smashed stereotypes to claim their spot among the state's best. On the flip side, however, several districts slid backward into the bottom tier, and dozens of schools seem stuck at the bottom.

Tuesday, October 25, 2011  Athletics officials at South Carolina say a clerical error submitted to the NCAA is behind the report of a 39 percent graduation success rate for the football team. The NCAA said Tuesday that the school resubmitted the data, increasing the rate to 55 percent.

Monday, December 06, 2010  South Carolina high school leaders don't like the way the state calculates graduation rates, but state officials say they are just doing what federal rules require.

Thursday, June 10, 2010  According to the Diplomas Count Study, only 55 percent of high school students in the state graduate on time.

Tuesday, October 28, 2008  As U.S. Education Secretary Margaret Spellings spoke here about new federal rules for calculating graduation rates, South Carolina educators said the accountability law should be revamped when Spellings' boss is out of office