The midterm elections are wrapped, and plenty of people are looking towards the presidential election in 2016. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush is considered a possible contender for the Republican nomination.

Bush is best known as a champion of education. In fact, he highlighted what he called a failing system in a fundraising letter sent on behalf of the Excellence in Education Foundation. The letter claims:

    "In order to have any lasting success, we must first transform our failing education system and have no tolerance for the adult-centered K-12 system that exists today. America's education system is a prime example of government that is completely out-of-control. Instead of focusing on what's best for our children, education in America is focused on the adults who organize in more than 13,000 heavily unionized government monopolies. As a result, America's high school graduation standards are shamefully low. Only 25 (percent) of America's high school graduates are college or career ready. 1/3 of America's high school graduates need remediation. 1/3 of our kids drop out, cannot go to college or start a career. This is a tragedy unfolding in our country in ways that will overwhelm us.”

PolitiFact Florida rated the claim that one-third of students drop out and can’t go on to college or a career MOSTLY TRUE. Reporter Joshua Gillin says the statistics can be interpreted in different ways.

“The statistics that we looked up said (the numbers) can range anywhere from 3 to 6 percent all the way up to about 20 percent,” Gillin said.

That number falls short of one-third. A spokesperson with the Bush foundation pointed to multiple reports that show high numbers of minority students not graduating from high school. But those statistics don’t take into account the whole student population in the United States.

Bush’s staff also pointed to data that shows 31 percent of students who graduated from high school and took the ACT college-entrance exam weren’t ready for entry level college classes. This isn’t a whole representation, either, because not every student takes the ACT exam. Because of those facts, PolitiFact rated the claim MOSTLY FALSE.

SOURCES: HIGH SCHOOL DROP OUT RATES