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Colleges are using big data to track students in an effort to boost graduation rates, but it comes at a cost

The Hechinger Report

For an absurd example, if dropouts tended to take classes on Thursdays in their first semester at college, but students who completed their degrees didn’t, then you might worry about current students who are currently taking classes on Thursdays. The dropout problem got a lot worse in the 1990s when more people started attending college.

Data 106
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Held back, but not helped

The Hechinger Report

Even as early as 2006 and 2007, it was apparent to sociologists Lori Peek and Alice Fothergill, authors of the book “Children of Katrina,” that students were falling way behind as a result of the storm and its aftermath. Rory Williams stands in the library at George Washington Carver High School.

Analysis 121
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Are the challenges of Puerto Rico’s schools a taste of what other districts will face?

The Hechinger Report

The island has faced corruption and mismanagement in local government, billions of dollars in debt and mass emigration that has caused a critical loss of professionals and essentially halved the island’s student population in 15 years, from almost 550,000 in 2006 to 276,413 in 2021. Child poverty is widespread: In the 50 U.S.