South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Sunday)
Florida’s graduation rates keep rising
Florida’s high school students are graduating at record rates, hitting a 15-year high in the last school year at 86.1 percent, according to the state Department of Education.
Almost every category of race and disability showed progress, including African-American students, Hispanic students, students with disabilities and poor students.
Palm Beach County bested the state’s rate with 87.2 percent graduating, while Broward improved its standing to 84.3 percent, up from 81 percent the previous year. Miami-Dade’s numbers also improved, to 85.4 percent, an increase from 80.7 percent the previous year.
The rates include charter schools, which are independently run but funded with taxpayer money. Several school districts pointed out that their rates would be even higher if charter schools were excluded from the statistics.
“Our graduation rate rose by
2.2% to 87.2% with charter schools. Without charter schools our graduation rate rose to
91.7%!!!” Palm Beach County schools spokeswoman Julie Houston Trieste said in an email. “We are so proud of the amazing work of our teachers, administrators and of course our students.”
Broward schools also removed charter schools, as well as alternative schools for students with disciplinary problems, from its celebratory statement: “Broward County Public Schools (BCPS) is proud to announce that the results show graduation rates for traditional district high schools (excluding centers and charter schools) reached the highest level in seven years, at 95.1 percent.”
For the second year in a row, three Broward high schools achieved perfect graduation rates of 100 percent: Atlantic Technical High, College Academy at Broward College and Lauderhill
6-12 STEM-MED.
And several Broward schools increased their graduation rates by 4 points or more, including Piper High in Sunrise, Hollywood Hills High and Monarch High in Coconut Creek.
Miami-Dade also lauded its record high percentage. Superintendent Alberto M. Carvalho removed charter schools from his calculations and tweeted: “The best possible ending to 2018! Miami-Dade County Public Schools’ graduation rate soared to 89%, close to a 5% increase over last year’s, and the largest increase of all large district’s in Florida.”
Schools have been putting an increased emphasis on graduation in recent years, after the state
made it part of the criteria used to determine their letter grades of A, B, C, D or F. These letter grades have proven important to parents who may seek an alternative if they believe the grade shows a school has been unsuccessful.
This pressure has forced school districts to find innovative ways to make sure teens finish high school in four years. Computer software tracks their progress, while longer school days and intensive tutoring have helped many students improve their math and reading skills.
Schools in Lafayette County, between Gainesville and Tallahassee, had the highest district-wide graduation rate in the state at 97.4 percent, while DeSoto County, centered around Arcadia, came in last at 60.9 percent.
The state reported 3.5 percent of students across Florida dropped out, while the remaining seniors who have not yet graduated are still enrolled in school, pursuing alternatives such as working on an equivalent degree or taking adult education classes.