题目内容
The U.S. high school rate (辍学率) has fallen in recent years,with the number of dropouts decreased from 1 million in 2008 to about 750,000 in 2012,according to a study. The number of dropout factories”,high schools in which fewer than 60% of freshmen graduate in four years,decreased greatly during the same period.
“Clear progress is being made,” said Bob Wise,a former West Virginia governor. “it's not a total success yet. So we shou?dn’ t,take a victory iap. But we can at least st?rt warming up."
Education Secretary Ame Duncan has said the improving graduation rate serves as evidence that the nation's public schools are making progress. But there* re many reasons that graduation rates can rise. And not all of the reasons have to do with stronger schools preparing more students for life after high school.
Alabama,for example,made great progress in 2014. Its graduation rate jumped more than six percentage points,the second-biggest increase in the nation. But the increase agreed with a policy change that took in the same year: Alabama students no longer had to pass ? high school exit exam to earn a diploma (毕业文凭) .
It also isn’ t clear how many students are graduating with the skills they need for the workplace or for college. Graduation requirements vary widely across states,and many states offer different levels of diplomas with different requirements.
Arizona students can earn a standard diploma that requires four courses in math,four in English and three in science. But they also can earn a “Grand Canyon” diploma,which requires just two courses each in math,science and English — less than many colleges’ requ?ement for admission.
9. The good news about a newly released study is that
A.there’ re few dropouts in u.s. high schools
B. the U.S. high school dropout rate has fallen
C. the number of “dropout factories” has increased
D. the number of high school students is increasing
10. The underlined phrase “take a victory lap” in Paragraph 2 means .
A. lose confidence
B. stop working
C. become too excited
D. get embarrassed
11. Why does the author mention Alabama?
A. fo prove Alabama's education develops very fast.
B. To show graduation rate doesn't mean everything.
C. To advise students to try to get different diplomas.
D. To warn the U.S. education is not successful.
12. What do we know about the “Grand Canyon”
diploma in Arizona? 一
A. Students need to put more efforts into it.
B. It's much required for colleges in Arizona.
C. Students who get it won’t necessarily be admitted by colleges.
D. It's more difficult to get than a standard diploma.