District Administration - May 2007 - (Page 78)

PROFESSIONAL OPINION • Anne L. Bryant Straight Talk on Graduation Rates Accurate graduation rates are essential measures of high school performance. T Reporting More Reliable Data The problem is that neither school districts nor states have adequate methods to collect Non-Diploma Earnings Gap High school diplomas are even more im- and report reliable information on graduportant in the United States than elsewhere, ation rates. Many districts base the rate according to the Organization for Eco- on the number of students entering 12th nomic Co-operation and Development grade in the fall, which fails to account for (OECD). The OECD says that American students who may have left earlier. The National Governors Association adults ages 25 to 64 who have not completed high school earn only 65 cents for every recommends a method for calculating and dollar earned by a high school graduate. reporting graduation rates that all 50 states This earnings gap was the greatest among have agreed to put in place. The states all OECD countries. In addition, those must develop a high quality data collecwho lack a high school diploma are more tion system that tracks individual students likely to earn below-average wages and are from kindergarten through college. The more likely to be unemployed. So oﬀering a complete picture of gradRESOURCES uation rates is important. Various national Center for Public Education reports place the high school graduation www.centerforpubliceducation.org rate as low as 70 percent and as high as 83 Organization for Economic percent. The state picture is equally conCo-operation and Development Anne L. Bryant is executive director of the fusing: 36 states report rates between 80 www.oecd.org National School Boards Association. and 97 percent, while another report says 78 May 2007 HIS MAY AND JUNE HIGH school seniors across the country will be walking across the stage to pick up their diplomas. They will then be oﬃcial high school graduates with their futures in front of them. But few of these graduating seniors have a clue about how controversial the walk across the stage and the entire graduation process has become. While the newly minted graduates are pondering which graduation party to attend, school administrators are poring over data to determine the school’s graduation rate. There is a huge debate swirling in the education community about how many students actually earn a diploma. It may sound like just another arcane discussion among education researchers, but in reality, the rate of students who graduate is one of the best indicators of a high school’s performance. And today a high school diploma is the basic qualiﬁcation for survival. “About one in ﬁve students is not earning a standard diploma on time.” that the same 36 states have rates between 56 and 86 percent. According to the National School Boards Association’s Center for Public Education, which recently published a guide to graduation rates, even the most optimistic national estimate means that about one in ﬁve students is not earning a standard diploma on time. For minorities, the statistics are even worse. The range varies, but an estimate is that one in four black and Hispanic students is not graduating. problem is that only a handful of states have an electronic record-keeping system that can track students from kindergarten to high school. It could take years for all of the states to get their systems in place. School district leaders do not need to wait until the states have implemented the Governors Association plan. In fact, with the pressures of the No Child Left Behind law, district leaders could ﬁnd it nearly impossible to wait years for accurate high school graduation rates. Instead, school districts can start making their own changes right now. One of the most important steps is to get a handle on the data and how they are collected, analyzed and reported. It is important to know if the data cover all four years of high school and how they account for students who leave. The Governors Association recommends taking the number of graduates and dividing it by the number of students in school four years ago, then adding the transfers in and subtracting the transfers out to get the graduation rate. School districts have to strengthen their documentation system. Districts should know the status of each student. Is he/she a transfer from out of state? Is he/ she moving out of the district and going to a new school? Improving the data collection system will lead to more accurate graduation rates. Finally, school leaders should communicate with community leaders and elected oﬃcials about the steps they are taking to improve the collection of data and the reporting of graduation rates. Getting on top of the issue and taking responsibility to provide a complete picture of graduation rates are critical to maintaining community support for the schools. DA DistrictAdministration http://www.centerforpubliceducation.org http://www.oecd.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of District Administration - May 2007

Contents
Editor’s Letter
Letters
News Update
Inside the Law
Curriculum Update
Administrator Profile
District Profi le
Focal Points for Pre-K8 Math
Games Students Play
Healthy Choices
Tragic Lessons
Learning with Personal Media Players
New Products
Computer Literature
Problem Solution
Professional Opinion
Speaking Out
Online Edge
Calendar of Events
Research Corner

District Administration - May 2007