The truancy rate at Columbia High School stayed flat at 1 percent during the 2016-17 school year, according to a SW Illinois News analysis of the latest Illinois schools report card.

About 99 percent of ninth graders in 2017 were on track to graduate at a school where the four-year graduation rate was 91 percent that year, according to the latest Illinois schools report card by the Illinois State Board of Education.

More than 93 percent of teachers stay at Columbia High School year to year, according to the 2017 three-year average in the latest Illinois schools report card.

In a year when 91 percent of Columbia High School seniors graduated on time, 58 percent of those who attended Illinois community colleges had to enroll in remedial courses.

Career Center of Southern Illinois has one of the best 'on time' graduation rates in the U.S., according to a Higher Education Tribune analysis of federal data.

State residents enrolled at Christian Life College face among the lowest cost of attending four-year in-state colleges and universities in the U.S., according to a Higher Education Tribune analysis of federal data.

Despite dismal student performance on annual exams covering math and reading, high school graduation rates remain high across the region, according to a SW Illinois News analysis of 2016 data from the Illinois State Board of Education.

Athletes in Action tracks players with ties to communities within the Metro East Sun coverage area as they compete at the collegiate level. The following football players will compete during the week of Nov. 12 to Nov. 18.

Illinois Department of Central Management Services met at 1 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 6.

Illinois state workers seeking to negotiate a new contact with the state don’t just want more money; they want less accountability.

Fall is in the air at Marion High School, as the fall-sports seasons are about to get underway.

Columbia Community Unit School District No. 4 Board holds public hearing on FY 2016 amended budget during a recent meeting.

77 percent of Columbia High School's 2015 graduating class enrolled in college