Study: Graduation Rates in Largest U.S. Cities Lower Than National Average
Joan Oleck -- School Library Journal, 4/1/2008 11:25:00 AM
The likelihood that a teen living in one of America’s largest cities will graduate high school essentially amounts to a coin toss, with about a 50-50 chance, says a new study.Only about 52 percent of students in the school systems of the 50 largest cities complete high school with a diploma, says a report from America’s Promise Alliance, a nonprofit group founded by former Secretary of State Colin Powell that focuses on children’s education, safety and health and is headed by his wife, Alma.
Among the worst—based on 2003-04 data—were Baltimore, Cleveland, Detroit, and Indianapolis. In those cities, fewer than 35 percent of students received a diploma.
"Cities in Crisis: A Special Analytic Report on High School Graduation" also says that in metropolitan areas a clear distinction exists between urban centers and their surrounding metropolitan areas: Metro areas around 35 of the largest cities show an urban-suburban disparity that reaches 35 percentage points in several cases.
That figure is well below the national graduation rate of 70 percent, and even falls short of the 60 percent average for urban districts across the country, the report says. The findings show that the extremely-low graduation rates for these large school systems contribute disproportionately to the nation’s graduation crisis.
"The principal school districts of America’s 50 largest cities collectively educate 1.7 million public high school students–one out of every eight in the country," the report says. "However, these 50 education agencies account for nearly one-quarter (23 percent) of the 1.2 million students nationwide who fail to graduate with a diploma each year."
School districts at the bottom of the 50-city rankings had the following graduation rates: Detroit City School District, 24.9 percent; Indianapolis Public Schools, 30.5 percent; Cleveland Municipal City School District, 34.1 percent; Baltimore City Public School System, 34.6 percent; Columbus Public Schools, 40.9 percent; Minneapolis Public Schools, 43.7 percent, Dallas ISD, 44.4 percent; New York City Public Schools, 45.2 percent; and Los Angeles United, 45.3 percent.
Graduation rates were calculated using data from the U.S. Department of Education's Common Core of Data and the Cumulative Promotion Index.
Graduates from the 2003-04 school year were examined to determine whether they met four key criteria: three grade-to-grade promotions (9 to 10, 10 to 11, and 11 to 12); and whether they ultimately earned a diploma, for grade 12 to graduation.
