By Howard Blume

A study released Wednesday put an exclamation point on something that Los Angeles Unified School District officials already have acknowledged: too few of their graduates—about one in four—are earning a college degree.

The latest data points from two studies, by UCLA and Claremont Graduate University researchers, were no surprise to L.A. Unified. District officials had early access to the research—in fact, they were partners to the effort, long before this week’s formal release.

The collaboration between researchers and the district is a subtle but important component of what’s newsworthy around this announcement of findings. Even while the study was underway, the district used the preliminary results—and their plan for making things better—to apply for a $17 million state grant that is coming this way. To develop the plan, officials also looked at research from Chicago and Houston into “college persistence” — the ability to stay in college and earn a degree.

Read the full story at the Los Angeles Times.