Graduation rates show dip, stagnation
Memphis area schools struggling, figures show
Graduation rates among Memphis area school districts generally dipped two academic years ago, among students poised to receive diplomas months after the pandemic was declared, and stagnated last spring.
The Tennessee Department of Education released Tuesday graduation rates for the 2020-21 academic year. The state average dipped slightly, to 88.7% for the class of 2021 from 89.6% for the class of 2020.
In Shelby County, four suburban schools and 11 Shelby County Schools — five traditional and six charter schools — have graduation rates above the state average.
The metric calculates how many students of the expected cohort graduated high school in four years, including any additional summer courses after the final spring semester of 12th grade.
In Shelby County, five of the six suburban school districts have one high school for students. Lakeland School System, which doesn't yet have a high school, is building one. Shelby County Schools and the Achievement School District each have several high schools in their districts.
Below are the graduation rates for each public school district in the county:
h Shelby: 77.7% In 2021, 6,048 students of a possible 7,782 graduated, representing 47 schools reviewed by the state.
h Arlington: 96.2% In 2021, 483 students of a possible 502 graduated from Arlington High School.
h Bartlett: 96% In 2021, 617 students of a possible 643 graduated from Bartlett High School.
h Collierville: 95.8% In 2021, 684 students of a possible 714 graduated from Collierville High School.
h Germantown: 91.4% In 2021, 476 students of a possible 521 graduated from Houston High School.
h Millington: 85.6% In 2021, 160 students of a possible 187 graduated from Millington Central High School.
h Achievement School District: 40% In 2021, 226 students of a possible 565 graduated, representing seven schools reviewed by the state.
As in previous years, the graduation rate at the Achievement School District appears to be pulled down by at least one non-traditional high school with a graduation rate in the single digits. The state turnaround district saw a 13% drop in graduation rate this year compared to last year, which was a 10% drop compared to the year before that.
Three other high schools of the seven had rates for 2021 between 48% and 62%, with the other schools' graduation rates suppressed by the state, a regular practice generally done to give privacy to students among small groups of students in a data set.
Among the six school districts, Arlington was the only district to see improvement, with a graduation rate bump of 1.3 percentage points from the prior year.
Shelby County Schools and Bartlett remained the same at 77.7% and 96%, respectively.
Collierville and Germantown both dipped, but remained above the state average. Millington dipped and remained just below the state average.
“Our state remains committed to swift and urgent action to mitigate the negative effects of COVID-19 on our students,” Penny Schwinn, Tennessee's education commissioner, said in a statement. “The department was prepared for the negative impacts of the pandemic on our statewide graduation rate, but we are confident that with the right investment and the partnership and dedication of our districts and schools, we can resume the upward trajectory in graduation rate and ensure we are preparing Tennessee students for success.”
Laura Testino covers education and children's issues for the Commercial Appeal. Reach her at laura.testino@commercialappeal.com or 901-512-3763. Find her on Twitter: @Ldtestino