CALIFORNIA FOCUS
FOR RELEASE: TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2019 OR THEREAFTER
BY THOMAS D. ELIAS
FOR RELEASE: TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2019 OR THEREAFTER
BY THOMAS D. ELIAS
“FIVE-YEAR GRADUATION
RATES: A RARE GOOD IDEA IN SACRAMENTO”
In a
legislative season marked by a host of lousy ideas from forcing consumers to
bail out negligent utilities to a refusal of warning labels on highly-sugared
sodas, one good idea eventually emerged. It stands to reason this one comes not
from the state Legislature itself, but from an appointed board.
The idea:
Keep track of five-year graduation rates from California’s public high schools,
not just four-year ones.
This is
not merely sensible, but recognizes the new realities of a world where it is
simply not practical or advisable for all high school and college students to
get their diplomas within the standard four years.
Yes,
four-year high school graduation rates as reported by state officials are up
considerably from the dismal 62 percent figure reported as recently as eight
years ago. But those numbers were often questionable anyhow, as no system was
in place to track students when they switched school districts or dropped out
of standard and charter schools, switching to continuation schools and
alternative schools operated by county education departments.
Nor did
they account for students forced to drop out for a year or two because of
family economics, pregnancies or health emergencies, but who then returned to
extension or correspondence schools and finished high school.
So when
the state Board of Education at midsummer joined many other states in giving
districts and high schools credit for students who graduate in five years or
more, it was merely recognizing reality in an economy where families often need
more than one income to survive.
Using only
four-year graduation rates to rate and judge school districts was certainly
useful when that was the only available measure. But it severely underplayed
the successes of California’s often-criticized education system. Of course, four-year
graduation rates will also continue to be tracked and publicized now, as they
should be.
“Many
schools are making investments in serving students beyond the traditional
four-year program,” Santa Clara County school superintendent Mary Ann Dewan
told a reporter. “Data that reflect the true completion rate is vital to
continued support for these programs.”
In other
words, Dewan suggests that reported graduation rates of only about 80 percent
of students can cause public support for school funding and programs to wane, a
development that could reduce actual educational opportunities open to young
Californians in an era when education is more vital than ever for individual
success and prosperity.
And the
schools apparently deserve more credit than they’re usually given. Former state
Schools Supt. Tom Torlakson last year reported that half of all high school
graduates met requirements for admission to either the University of California
or the Cal State system.
That
included a 30 percent increase in eligibility for UC since 2007 and a 53
percent increase in those prepped for the Cal States.
The
numbers didn’t include students from alternative high schools, which usually
serve students who have dropped out previously, been expelled or felt they just
could not fit into a traditional high school. Some of these schools run online
programs to make education more accessible for dropouts unable to attend any
classes.
Eventually,
graduation performance by school districts that is reported to the public will
include both four- and five-year rates, giving many schools credit they
previously didn’t receive for innovative work and outreach.
The impact
of the changed system will be seen most dramatically among English-learner
students and low-income children, whose four-year graduation rates of about 72
percent each are significantly below the overall levels.
The new
system will also make comparisons of California schools’ performance with those
of other states more accurate, as it leaves only 18 states still using only
four-year graduation numbers to track school performance.
The entire
change will add an element of realism to thinking about public and charter
schools, an element that might actually improve their public image and that of
California as a whole.
-30-
Email Thomas Elias
at tdelias@aol.com. His book, "The Burzynski Breakthrough: The Most
Promising Cancer Treatment and the Government’s Campaign to Squelch It,"
is now available in a soft cover fourth edition. For more Elias columns, visit www.californiafocus.net.
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