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State Blacks' Graduation Rate Among Worst in U.S.: Minnesota Ranks 44th As Fewer Than Half Get Diplomas in 2003

Posted on: Wednesday, 21 June 2006, 06:00 CDT

By Megan Boldt, Pioneer Press, St. Paul, Minn.

Jun. 21--Minnesota has one of the highest high school graduation rates in the nation, but posts one of the worst for black students.

Although the state's overall graduation rate ranks eighth in the U.S., fewer than half of its black students -- 44 percent -- received their diplomas on time in 2003, according an Education Week magazine analysis released Tuesday. Only six states posted lower graduation rates for black students.

The findings came as no surprise, since similar surveys have shown a persistent achievement gap between whites and students of color, especially blacks. For many years, numerous national and state assessments have shown that Minnesota has a large gap between white and minority students' scores. Income and educational background of parents are among the reasons cited by educators.

Alice Seagren, the state's education commissioner, said more work clearly must be done to close the gap between whites and blacks, although she was pleased with Minnesota's overall ranking.

"Again, we're struggling with our achievement gap, like many other states across the country," Seagren said. "We need to continue to look at ways to prevent truancy and keeping kids engaged in both middle school and high school."

About four out of five Minnesota students received a high school diploma in 2003. Wisconsin ranked fifth in the nation that year, with an overall graduation rate of 81 percent.

The national average was 70 percent, meaning about 1.2 million students didn't graduate on time.

Christopher Olley, the diploma completion program coordinator for St. Paul public schools, said he's not surprised by Education Week's findings.

"Does it disappoint me? Yes. It definitely does," Olley said. "It has nothing to do with intellect. It has to do with the cultural and economic situations that these kids are in. We need to get to kids early on and show them the opportunities that are out there once they get that high school diploma."

Olley said many students of color don't complete high school in four years, but many go on to get a diploma or its equivalent later in life. "That doesn't mean we're off the hook," Olley said. "We shouldn't sit back and say, 'Oh, they'll eventually get there.' "

St. Paul's program to get dropouts back in school has been successful. About 285 have returned to school over the past three years.

Olley tries phone calls and home visits to help persuade recent dropouts to come back and get their diplomas. He also has connected with community organizations, such as police departments, and nurses to help him find teens who aren't in school.

Olley's position has been eliminated because of budget cuts, but he hopes to be hired as a mentor for middle-school students to keep them on track toward graduation.

Calculating reliable graduation rates over the years hasn't been easy. Different states have used different formulas and criteria to figure out their percentage of high school graduates each year, making it difficult to compare one state to another.

Education Week's analysis attempts to do that, although the magazine lacked sufficient data to make comparisons with other races in Minnesota. Seagren said states will start to calculate their graduation rates in a similar, consistent fashion. Minnesota also will start tracking individual student enrollment in the next year or two, she said.

"We want to have as accurate of a graduation rate as we can," Seagren said. "We want one that fairly reflects what's going on in Minnesota.

Megan Boldt covers education and can be reached at mboldt@pioneerpress.com or 651-228-5495.

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Copyright (c) 2006, Pioneer Press, St. Paul, Minn.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

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Source: Saint Paul Pioneer Press (St. Paul, Minn.)

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