What is New Mexico’s Real Graduation Rate?

Back in August, the Albuquerque Journal broke a story saying that New Mexico’s real graduation rate for 2008 was 54 percent. Then the state revised the rate to 60 percent or so (although I could not find an exact statewide number).

Unfortunately, I’ve seen other studies like the “Diplomas Count” study which found that New Mexico’s graduation rate was 54.1 percent while the national rate was 70.6 percent. Seems like the Diplomas Count study is a lot more reflective of reality than the revised numbers. When will our government officials be honest about New Mexico’s education problem?