Palm Beach, Broward public schools boost high school grad rates
Record graduation rates should benefit this year's school ratings
E-mail
Print
Public high school graduation rates reached record highs in Palm Beach and Broward counties and exceeded statewide gains this year, the Florida Department of Education said on Thursday.
These milestones should help Florida's high schools, which for the first time will be graded based in part on how many students earn diplomas.
Palm Beach County's 2009-10 graduation rate increased 4.2 percentage points in one year, hitting 81.9 percent. The school district's performance outshone the state's highest-ever, 79 percent mark.
Superintendent Art Johnson credited "hard work and focus of our students, teachers and staff" despite the upheaval over curriculum changes last year. He said he hopes the results will "give our community confidence in the school system."
Broward's rate is now 77.7 percent, up from 73.9 percent the previous year and 69.7 percent in the 2007-08 school year. Thursday's good news touched off celebrations throughout the school system.
"We're ecstatic," Broward Deputy Superintendent Joanne Harrison said of the statistics. "Our initiatives are showing positive gains."
Sixteen of the district's 31 traditional high schools increased their graduation rates by five or more percentage points. One of the most notable improvements was at Boyd Anderson High inLauderdale Lakes, where the rate soared from 69.2 percent to 81.3 percent.
More rigorous instruction, better teacher training, and online programs that help students earn credits contributed to the increases, Harrison said.
Florida's graduation rate is based on a group that begins in ninth grade and graduates four years later. That includes students with disabilities who earn a special diploma, but students who earned general equivalency diplomas, or GED's, were removed from the calculations.
The formula for the rate was devised by the National Governors' Association and will be used to calculate high school grades.
Those grades are expected soon after Thanksgiving and will combine scores on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test — used to grade elementary and middle schools — with other data, including graduation rates and performance in advanced classes.
The state's graduation rate still allows schools to remove from their calculations, students who leave high school to pursue adult education programs. This action helps to boost school graduation numbers.
Education Commissioner Eric Smith said earlier this year that the practice meant Florida wasn't "accounting for all kids" in its graduation calculations.
The federal government plans to require counting such students — there were more than 17,300 in 2009 — under a new system it is proposing all states follow.
But in the meantime, Florida is using the rate devised by the governors association. By that measure, the state's graduation rate has climbed from 68.9 percent in 2006 to 79 percent this year.
The state's graduation rates were buoyed by strong improvements among black and Hispanic students. They still lagged behind those of their white classmates but each improved by about 13 percentage points in the past five years.
Smith said he was happy with the results, though they still show more must be done to get all students through high school and prepared for higher education or a good job.
"Although these increases have been substantial, we must recognize that the road of improvement remains long, and only through continued hard work and a commitment to reform can we hope to travel it quickly," he said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Florida's dropout rate dropped again to record low of 2 percent, a decrease from 3.5 percent four years ago. Broward's dropout rate fell to 1.6 percent, while the figure in Palm Beach County increased slightly this year and is 2.8 percent. The dropout rate is based on a single year and includes students across all four grade levels who quit school.
Palm Superintendent Johnson said the district won't stop striving toward its goal of increasing the graduation rate each year.
"We are very pleased with these results," he said. "We still have work to do, and we will not rest until all students are reaching their potential, graduating ready for college and ready to pursue a successful career."
Marc Freeman can be reached at mjfreeman@SunSentinel.com or 561-243-6642.
These milestones should help Florida's high schools, which for the first time will be graded based in part on how many students earn diplomas.
Palm Beach County's 2009-10 graduation rate increased 4.2 percentage points in one year, hitting 81.9 percent. The school district's performance outshone the state's highest-ever, 79 percent mark.
Superintendent Art Johnson credited "hard work and focus of our students, teachers and staff" despite the upheaval over curriculum changes last year. He said he hopes the results will "give our community confidence in the school system."
Broward's rate is now 77.7 percent, up from 73.9 percent the previous year and 69.7 percent in the 2007-08 school year. Thursday's good news touched off celebrations throughout the school system.
"We're ecstatic," Broward Deputy Superintendent Joanne Harrison said of the statistics. "Our initiatives are showing positive gains."
Sixteen of the district's 31 traditional high schools increased their graduation rates by five or more percentage points. One of the most notable improvements was at Boyd Anderson High inLauderdale Lakes, where the rate soared from 69.2 percent to 81.3 percent.
More rigorous instruction, better teacher training, and online programs that help students earn credits contributed to the increases, Harrison said.
Florida's graduation rate is based on a group that begins in ninth grade and graduates four years later. That includes students with disabilities who earn a special diploma, but students who earned general equivalency diplomas, or GED's, were removed from the calculations.
The formula for the rate was devised by the National Governors' Association and will be used to calculate high school grades.
Those grades are expected soon after Thanksgiving and will combine scores on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test — used to grade elementary and middle schools — with other data, including graduation rates and performance in advanced classes.
The state's graduation rate still allows schools to remove from their calculations, students who leave high school to pursue adult education programs. This action helps to boost school graduation numbers.
Education Commissioner Eric Smith said earlier this year that the practice meant Florida wasn't "accounting for all kids" in its graduation calculations.
The federal government plans to require counting such students — there were more than 17,300 in 2009 — under a new system it is proposing all states follow.
But in the meantime, Florida is using the rate devised by the governors association. By that measure, the state's graduation rate has climbed from 68.9 percent in 2006 to 79 percent this year.
The state's graduation rates were buoyed by strong improvements among black and Hispanic students. They still lagged behind those of their white classmates but each improved by about 13 percentage points in the past five years.
Smith said he was happy with the results, though they still show more must be done to get all students through high school and prepared for higher education or a good job.
"Although these increases have been substantial, we must recognize that the road of improvement remains long, and only through continued hard work and a commitment to reform can we hope to travel it quickly," he said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Florida's dropout rate dropped again to record low of 2 percent, a decrease from 3.5 percent four years ago. Broward's dropout rate fell to 1.6 percent, while the figure in Palm Beach County increased slightly this year and is 2.8 percent. The dropout rate is based on a single year and includes students across all four grade levels who quit school.
Palm Superintendent Johnson said the district won't stop striving toward its goal of increasing the graduation rate each year.
"We are very pleased with these results," he said. "We still have work to do, and we will not rest until all students are reaching their potential, graduating ready for college and ready to pursue a successful career."
Marc Freeman can be reached at mjfreeman@SunSentinel.com or 561-243-6642.
No comments:
Post a Comment