Recently released data on the number of Montgomery County students not on track to graduate this spring have underscored what many county residents are reluctant to believe: Once-vaunted Montgomery County schools are struggling.

As of last spring, 82 percent of the county’s seniors had passed the tests in algebra, English, biology and government required this year for a diploma. Among Hispanic students, the number dropped to 69 percent. Among blacks, it dropped to 68 percent. Students from low-income families fared worse — barely three in five of them were on track for a diploma.