Report: Local Grad Rates on the Rise

By Hillary Chabot, The Sun, Lowell, Mass.

Jan. 23–BOSTON — Most high schools in Greater Lowell increased the number of students who graduated within four years, according to a report released yesterday.

All the schools met the four-year graduation rate of 65 percent, but some, including Lowell High and Tyngsboro High, fell back. The graduation rate dropped by about a percentage point in both schools.

“One year doesn’t a trend make, but that’s certainly not the direction we want to see those numbers going,” said Lowell Superintendent of Schools Karla Brooks Baehr, adding that the five-year graduation rate is more important because many urban students face roadblocks for a short time but still manage to graduate.

All 18 public high schools in Greater Lowell topped the statewide average of 81 percent, however. Billerica’s four-year graduation rates shot up from 84.5 percent to 92.7 percent, and Nashoba Valley Technical High School in Westford went from 89.8 percent to 95.7 percent.

The Board of Education voted for a new policy yesterday, adding options for

schools stretching to meet federal benchmarks. Schools must meet or surpass a four-year graduation rate of 60 percent or a five-year graduation rate of 65 percent, or increase their graduation rate by 2 percent, in order to make Adequate Yearly Progress.

Schools had to meet a four-year graduation rate of 55 or above under the previous policy.

“The graduation rate is a critically important indicator of our success,” said Board of Education Chairman Paul Reville in a statement. “I am delighted to see some modest improvement this year, and I am committed to ensuring that this remains a priority topic for the Board of Education going forward.”

Under the new regulations, 40 schools statewide won’t meet their AYP target, as compared to 65 schools that would have missed the mark before.

The report follows students who entered high school as freshmen in 2003, and finds that out of nearly 76,000 students statewide, 80.9 percent graduated in the class of 2007 — up nearly a percentage point from last year.

Of the remaining students, 6.6 percent are still in school, less than 1 percent did not earn a high-school diploma after completing four years of high school, 2 percent earned a GED, and 9.4 percent dropped out.

—–

To see more of The Sun, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.lowellsun.com.

Copyright (c) 2008, The Sun, Lowell, Mass.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.