APS graduation rates up, proficiency must be next

Kudos to the students, faculty and staff at Valley High School whose hard work resulted in a 7.9 percentage point jump in the school’s graduation rate — the biggest improvement among Albuquerque Public Schools’ traditional high schools.

But as critics of the state’s education reforms are fond to point out, one number does not define a school. And so it is with grad rates, even good ones. Because according to state data, only one out of four Valley High students can read at grade level, and just one out of 20 can do grade-level math. Yet the North Valley high school’s graduation rate for 2017 was 75.2 percent, compared to the districtwide average of 67.9 percent and statewide rate of 71.1 percent.

And not just Valley High posted a gain. Nine of the district’s 13 traditional high schools improved their graduation rates.

La Cueva posted the district’s best graduation rate at 87.4 percent, up 2.5 percentage points from 2016 (64 percent of its students can read at grade level, 44 percent can do grade-level math).

Atrisco Heritage Academy graduated 70.8 percent, up 1.1 percentage points (25 percent of students are proficient in reading, 9 percent in math).

Cibola was at 78.1, up 3.2 (41 percent of students are proficient in reading, 24 percent in math).

Del Norte also had a 3.2 percentage point increase, posting a graduation rate of 58.6 (25 percent of students there are proficient in reading, 11 percent in math).

Eldorado’s rate was 78.8, up 0.4 (half the students there are proficient in reading, 34 percent in math).

Manzano’s rate was 75.8 percent, up 5.2 percentage points (31 percent of students are proficient in reading, 14 percent in math).

Sandia’s rate was 79.2 percent, up 5.4 (47 percent of students are proficient in reading, 27 percent in math).

Volcano Vista had a graduation rate of 84.7 percent, up 5.2 (37 percent of students are proficient in reading, 24 percent in math).

Valley principal Anthony Griego credits several factors for improving the grad rate, including counselors and early transcript reviews. Counselors are meeting with students regularly, telling them where they stand and offering options to make up missing credits. And they stay with the same students throughout high school. He adds teachers are making a concerted effort to update electronic grade books quickly; parents and students have access to that system, Synergy, which tracks attendance and grades.

It’s obvious why this type of system would make a big difference. But so does using alternative demonstrations for competency to graduate, which at APS ranges from passing the final exam to simply being accepted to a two-year college or the military. Valley, Atrisco Heritage and Del Norte use something other than the PARCC or final exams more often than the state average to show graduation readiness, according to the state Department of Education. La Cueva, Cibola, Eldorado, Manzano, Sandia and Volcano Vista students perform better on the PARCC than their counterparts in other high schools. Del Norte does a bit better on the PARCC but uses non-test measures for math proficiency at almost the same rate Atrisco does.

And that begs the question what’s a diploma worth if you can’t read well or balance a checkbook? Yet the changes Griego describes at Valley are an important step forward. Now APS administrators need to determine if and how many graduating students are not prepared for college or the workforce and right that wrong. And they need to finally capitalize on these nine schools’ student successes and build upon them with programs that have delivered proficiency results, like the state’s Teachers/Principals Pursuing Excellence.

Yes, APS has made some real gains when it comes to graduation, and it is essential to give credit to the hard-working teachers, counselors, principals, support staff and parents that helped make it happen for students. But no school is defined by one number, and it is up to APS to help ensure not only that more students get their diplomas, but that they are ready to succeed in life after high school.