Perdue’s focus includes poorly prepared NC grads

RALEIGH, N.C. — Gov. Beverly Perdue says she’s resolute about raising North Carolina’s high school graduation rate because nearly 30 percent of the ninth-graders still don’t get a diploma in four years.

But Perdue’s 2010 education agenda has brought more attention to the more than 20,000 students who learn quickly the diplomas they earned aren’t worth as much as they hoped.

Nearly two-thirds of North Carolina’s recent graduates entering community colleges must take basic algebra, English composition or other basic courses again because they didn’t learn it well enough in high school.

State education leaders say they’re all on the same page with Perdue. But they know remediation efforts aren’t enough for the more than 80,000 students entering their senior year annually.

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