Failing students in Montgomery County high schools have made only meager improvements under new districtwide efforts to snag them before they drop out of school, again shining a spotlight on persistent academic disparities that exist between the county’s racial groups.

Of 1,516 students placedinto a program for students who previously failed classes critical to graduation, only 246, or 16 percent, earned an A or a B. Nearly one-third, or 496 of the students, re-failed the necessary course.