1. The graduation rate rose to 78.2% for public school students, up from 71.7% in 2001. Overall, 3.1 million students received a diploma in 2010.
  2. The U.S. has slipped from #1 to #22 out of 27 developed countries in their graduation rate.
  3. An Education Sector survey found that 40% of teachers want their unions to focus more on teacher performance and student achievement than they currently do, and less than 50% consider unions to be absolutely essential. Only 43% of teachers have a positive view of unions.
  4. About 33% of teachers miss more than 10 days of school each year and that costs districts at least $4 billion a year for subs. Plus, districts with 10% or more of teachers on any given day rose from 11.6% in 2010 to 25.5% in 2012.