Graduation rates are a fundamental indicator of whether or not the nation's public school system is doing what it is intended to do: enroll, engage, and educate youth to be productive members of society. Since almost 90 percent of the fastest-growing and highest-paying jobs require some postsecondary education, having a high school diploma and the skills to succeed in college and the workplace are essential. Yet nationally, one-third of students--about 1.3 million each year--leave high school without a diploma, at a high cost to themselves and society at large. Unacceptably low graduation rates, particularly among poor and minority students, have been obscured for far too long by inaccurate data, calculations, and reporting, and inadequate accountability systems at the state and federal levels. Nationally, this report provides the latest graduation rate statistics, demonstrates graduation gaps between demographic groups, illustrates the discrepancies in graduation rates reported by government and independent sources, and examines the economic costs of dropouts to individuals and society.