Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Graduation rates soar in South Florida despite virus
Improvement likely short-lived, due to canceled testing
School districts say students have suffered a “COVID slide” academically, but you wouldn’t know that by looking at their newest graduation rates.
All three South Florida counties improved significantly in their 2019-20 graduation rates. However, the numbers may have gotten a one-year boost due to the state waiving some standardized testing requirements due to the COVID19 pandemic.
Palm Beach County scores rose from 87.1% in 2019 to 90.2% last year. Broward went from 86.2% to 89.4%, and Miami-Dade had the largest gain, from 85.6% to 89.6%.
The rates are similar to the state, which reported 90% student graduated last year, up from 86.9% the previous year.
This Class of 2020 missed out on in-person graduations due to the pandemic and spent the final nine weeks of the semester learning at home, as districts abruptly pivoted to the new way of teaching.
“We have numbers this high because of the hard work of our staff and students,” Palm Beach Superintendent Donald Fennoy said. “In this harsh reality of COVID, I’m glad we were able to maintain this level of success.”
Miami-Dade Superintendent Alberto Carvalho said: “This increase in graduation rates is a significant achievement that deserves to be celebrated. Despite the challenges faced in 2020, our students continue to shine and our world-class educational workforce is to be commended for these results.”
The office of Broward Schools Chief Communications Officer Kathy Koch did not respond to a request for comment.
The gains could be short-lived as some factors may have artificially boosted this year’s numbers. The state canceled standardized testing last spring after schools abruptly closed due to COVID-19. Two of those, the Florida Standards Assessment
language arts test and an algebra end-of-course exam, are normally required for graduation.
Although most students take these exams early in high school, struggling students may be taking or retaking them during their senior years, and they’re less likely to pass it than their classmates. The tests were waived for about 7% of students statewide, said Claudia Shea, a spokeswoman for Palm Beach County Schools. Data for individual districts was not available Thursday.
The state is requiring students to take these tests this year.
Some South Florida teachers have said they were also instructed to grade students more leniently in spring 2020, which could mean some borderline students graduating who might have otherwise failed.
Districts returned to tougher grading in the fall, and that’s when districts noticed an academic slide attributed to learning remotely, known as the COVID slide. Although schools reopened in September or October, most students chose distance learning. Data from the three districts showed students received more than twice as many F’s during the first nine weeks of the fall semester, compared to fall 2019.
That could translate into lower graduation rates for the class of 2021.
“Our challenge now, in this time of COVID, is maintaining this level of success,” Fennoy said. “As a district, we will continue to work in the best interest of our students and make up for any lost ground to elevate our future grad