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E-mail Home > Blogs > Get on the Bus > Archives > 2008 > June > 24 > Entry
Dayton grad rate still going up
The city schools’ graduation rate will rise again when the district’s state report card is released in August.
This time Dayton will report 82.8 percent for its graduation rate for 2006-07, up from 79 percent on last year’s report card. The report card’s graduation rate data is always one year behind.
The gain continues a trend that has seen the city schools’ graduation rate jump from 53.8 percent four years ago.
“It’s been a team effort,” Superintendent Percy Mack told a joint meeting of school board members and city commissioners Tuesday.
Mack also broke down the data by gender and ethnic groups, showing gains in every area. White students, who excel compared to minority groups statewide but tend to graduate at a lower rate in Dayton, made a huge gain over the four-year term — up to 69.7 percent from 36.7 percent.
Also making big gains were boys — 78.5 percent, up from 46.6 percent four years ago.
School board member Jeff Mims said the district should be commended for the performance of black students, who statewide trail far behind white students when it comes to graduating. But in Dayton, where the district is more than 75 percent black, those students outperform the district average, graduating at an 86 percent rate (up from 59.8 percent four years ago).
“Nationally, Ohio is near the bottom in African-American graduating rates,” Mims said. “We are several cuts above even other urban districts for African American graduation rates.”
Other graduation rate data:
—Girls: 86.6 percent, up from 60.8 percent four years ago
—Hispanic students: 78.6 percent, up from 66.7 percent four years ago
Permalink | Comments (6) | Post your comment | Categories: Dayton Public Schools
Comments
By MC
June 27, 2008 2:35 AM | Link to this
Well said, Oldprof! Congratulations Dayton Public Schools!
By Rick
June 26, 2008 7:48 PM | Link to this
Oldprof, I agree with you wholeheartedly. This is a great achievement. The only downer I see is that Mr. Mims is only concerned about the performance of black students. For too long those in charge of the district had that black student myopia. Sad to see he still has it. But the news is great.
By Oldprof
June 26, 2008 1:44 PM | Link to this
So, Hater and Mary, do you think your conclusions are news? Back in the 1960s, John Holt was writing about how educational achievement K-12 was based on seat time and not learning. At the other end of the process, Hazard Adams in “The Academic Tribes” asserted that the only thing a PhD proved was that the scholar was stubbornly persistent. So it’s been known (to the knowledgeable) for quite a time. Now, can we also agree that throwing cold water on every instance of positive education news is discouraging to the people who worked hard for this success? I’d favor widespread reform of education K-14 so that we certify skills rather than duration—but I’m still going to celebrate DPS’s spectacular success at their assigned goal here, and I’m going to cheer the teachers and administrators who made it happen.
By mathteacher
June 25, 2008 12:06 PM | Link to this
Charterschoolhater, you sound like a DPS graduate! “This old man …” Furthermore, as an instructor at Sinclair, I have seen students from suburban school districts have many of the same struggles as the DPS students.
By Mary
June 25, 2008 7:31 AM | Link to this
I agree with “charterschoolhater” that what you know when you graduate is important. It is amazing how much attention is lavished regarding seat time and whether a student hangs around long enough to collect their diploma “credential”. But then people really dig in when there is a standardized test to help measure what is actually being learned. Their eyes also glaze over when you talk about a meaningful or more challenging curriculum.
By charterschoolhater
June 24, 2008 11:03 PM | Link to this
It is not the fact that you graduated, it is what do you know? I was alarmed this spring when I took a class at Sinclair. I was in class with many students who were graduates of Dayton Public Schools. I hate to tell you, but this old man who has been out of school 25 years struggled less with the demands of daily homework, and quizzes, weekly tests than these kids who identified themselves as the DPS grads. They really struggled to keep up with the pace of a freshman composition class. I don’t care how many graduate. What they know after coming out is paramount. For man it isn’t much. But they graduated? Is guess so.