In Michigan, students rise to tougher challenges

They're going to be just fine.

That's the news out of Michigan, where the Class of 2011 — the first to face a series of tougher graduation requirements — appears to have dodged the dropout avalanche predicted by some critics. 

"We are not seeing any of those dire predictions coming true," Mike Bender, director of secondary education for Plymouth-Canton Community Schools, told the Detroit Free Press.