laboratories, auditoriums and the like. There was considerable evidence of a shortage of such spaces. Particularly poignant is the fact that 31 New York City high schools serving more than 16,000 students have no science laboratory whatsoever. Whether this fact stems from overcrowding or from the design of some old school buildings, its direct impact on pedagogy is self- evident and it counts against the State in any assessment of the facilities input. 5 The counterexample the Appellate Division gives of the City's Catholic schools, where students perform relatively well despite larger class sizes (295 2 at 11), is inapposite for various reasons, including the greater flexibility Catholic schools have in choosing, disciplining and expelling students. 6 The dissent characterizes our holding as one under which "dropouts by definition do not receive a 'meaningful high school education,'" so that "it logically follows that the recipient of a high school diploma is the only student who does" (dissent at 9). But a presumption is not the same thing as a definition; it can be rebutted. The State, indeed, suggested that some students may drop out despite having received a sound basic education. But there is no evidence in the record to support the State's suggestion. If, in fact, high school graduation standards are set exceedingly high, and students can generally make a satisfactory entry into the workplace without a diploma, the State will always be free to prove these facts. 7 The evidence of Board of Education data tracking the high school classes of 1986 through 1996 is compelling that between a quarter and half of those students who drop out do so after completing four years of high school. Such students -- motivated to take extra time, if necessary, to complete high school -- still do not achieve this objective. 8 The State challenged this very conclusion with the testimony of its sociology expert, Dr. David Armor -- who performed statistical studies designed to test the effect of increased educational inputs while controlling for socioeconomic differences among students. The State argued that these studies show no correlation between increased funding and increased teacher certification rates and, further, no correlation between increased certification rates and better student scores -- but the trial court found Dr. Armor's testimony "not persuasive" (187 Misc 2d at 71), a finding the Appellate Division did not contradict. 9 The same cities have constitutional debt limits ( see NY Const, art VIII, § 4 et seq.).