Recently we’ve seen a rash of publicity coming out of New Orleans and from Leslie Jacobs about the New Orleans turnaround miracle. According to her press releases and op-ed pieces in the Time Picayune and Baton Rouge Advocate, New Orleans leads the both the state and nation in graduation rate. That would be some wonderful news . . . if it were true. I think this claim needs to be examined a little more closely and not just accepted as fact, and I will explain why.

For many years, New Orleans provided some of the worst data of all of Louisiana’s parishes, even before Katrina. I know this, because I was the one who had the thankless task of reviewing and pointing out obvious omissions – trying to get at least the outright ridiculous data fixed. Many of their schools failed to report discipline actions or attendance, or…