68.8—percentage of students in the United States who graduate from high school four years after beginning the ninth grade (Diplomas Count 2010, Education Week. June 10, 2010)

56—percentage of African-Americans students in the United States who graduate from high school four years after beginning the ninth grade (Ibid)

54— percentage of Latino students in the United States who graduate from high school four years after beginning the ninth grade (Ibid)

57.8—percentage of North Carolina students who graduate from high school four years after beginning the ninth grade (Ibid)

49.5— percentage of African-American students in North Carolina who graduate from high school four years after beginning the ninth grade (Ibid)

43.5— percentage of Latino students in North Carolina who graduate from high school four years after beginning the ninth grade (Ibid)

49.3—percentage of students in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools who graduate from high school four years after beginning the ninth grade (Ibid)

64.6—percentage of students in the Wake County Schools who graduate from high school four years after beginning the ninth grade (Ibid)

17—rank of Wake County Schools among the nation's largest school systems in percentage of students who graduate from high school four years after beginning the ninth grade (Ibid)

40—rank of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools among the nation's largest school systems in percentage of students who graduate from high school four years after beginning the ninth grade (Ibid)

53,848—projected number of 2010 non-graduates in North Carolina (Ibid)

6.386—projected number of 2010 non-graduates in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (Ibid)

6—rank of North Carolina among the 50 states on the number of non-graduates in 2010 (Ibid)

12,716—amount in dollars of annual per pupil spending in Fairfax County Schools in Virginia, a system singled out for praise by Wake County School Board member John Tedesco (U.S. Census Bureau. Public Elementary-Secondary Education Finance Data)

7,690—-amount in dollars of annual per pupil spending in Wake County Schools (Ibid)

8,081—amount in dollars of annual per pupil spending in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (Ibid)