The [Monday] Papers

"Graduation rates at almost every Chicago high school over the past four years have been revised following an investigation last year by WBEZ and the Better Government Association," WBEZ and the BGA report.

"Mayor Rahm Emanuel touted improving graduation rates as he campaigned for re-election last year. But an investigation by WBEZ and the BGA found that graduation rates were inflated, because many principals were regularly labeling students as transfers out of the district when they should have been classified as dropouts."

Well, a mistake like that could easily have been made quite innocuously at almost every high school in the district for four years. Maybe no one told those principals how to properly account for dropouts, such as checking the dropout box. Or maybe principals thought dropouts were transferring to each other's schools (wink, wink) or simply transferring to a life of despair. These things happen.

Besides, it was probably just a few students.

"New school-level data provided by CPS show that 4,500 more students dropped out over the past four years than previously reported by the district."

Oh.

Well, maybe that was a practice of the past that Rahm was cleaning up.

"The new data also show some schools saw significant changes in their graduation rate, especially in the past two years, when the mislabeling of students appears to be more widespread."

Oh.

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"Graduation rates are used in the district's school rating system and many principals have pointed to increases as a way to market themselves and attract more families."

So the incentive system is working.

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"Some of the confusion over graduation rates is also fueled by the fact that the district issues schools two different graduation rates - one that tracks students over four years and one that tracks them for five years. The four-year rate matters for a school's rating, but the five-year rate is the one that gets talked about publicly."

Because the first rule of the four-year rate is that you do not talk about the four-year rate.

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The South Side Solution
That guy on MTV was The Situation, and we use to call a Beachwood regular The Scenario; well, now the White Sox hope they have The Solution. In The White Sox Report.

The Week In Chicago Rock
Featuring: Heavy Dreams, TEEN, Slayer, Testament, Carcass, Gretchen Erickson, Future, Futuristic, Maiden Radio, Bullet For My Valentine, Lyfe Jennings, Bonnie "Prince" Billy, Dropkick Murphy's, and Fetty Wap.

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BeachBook

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Indiana case; decision by Posner.

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A favorite of mine; someone on my Twitter feed spotted it in stores over the weekend.

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TweetWood

He's adorable with children?

I know it's irrelevant at this point, but what's the legal authority that allows Obama to order bombing of claimed ISIS targets in Libya?

— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) February 22, 2016

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The one time Donald Trump gets something right and a professional political reporter doesn't know what on earth he's talking about.

Trump on Face the Nation, regarding 9/11. What on earth is he talking about? pic.twitter.com/vqL2CPUrLf

— Betsy Woodruff (@woodruffbets) February 21, 2016

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This is why POTUS candidates pushing aggressive FoPo should be asked how they'll pay for it. https://t.co/uuXKQmnBXb

— emptywheel (@emptywheel) February 20, 2016

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ok. whew. here are some guidelines for entertainment journalists reporting on sexual assault. https://t.co/p4GRvJXbZh

— jes skolnik (@modernistwitch) February 19, 2016

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Not Public til After it Happened; Alderman Sawyer's Community Lunch with #Rahm https://t.co/QoYrRxnNqX

— Mary Ann Ahern (@MaryAnnAhernNBC) February 22, 2016

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The Beachwood Tip Line: Community. Ish.

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