South Carolina’s public schools ranks 48th in high school graduation rate : The Beaufort Tribune Newspaper, Beaufort SC Newspapers

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Saturday, October 24, 2009
South Carolina’s public schools ranks 48th in high school graduation rate

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SC public schools rank 48th in high school graduation rate

Out of 50 states, South Carolina ranks 48th in “Average Freshman Graduation Rate” (AFGR), a measure of freshman who go on to receive full high school diplomas, according to a new report by the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB), the nonprofit, nonpartisan organization based in Atlanta GA that helps government and education leaders in its 16 member states work together to advance education.

The State of South Carolina failed to report all of its graduation/dropout data to the United States Department of Education–the data which SREB researchers used for their analysis. Working with information they could obtain from South Carolina, SREB researchers noted the following troubling conclusions:

While school officials in South Carolina self-reported a 2006 graduation rate of 74 percent, SREB researchers found the actual “Average Freshman Graduation Rate” (AFGR) to be 14 points lower (61 percent). South Carolina ranks 48th in AFGR, a measure of freshman who go on to receive full high school diplomas.
South Carolina ranks 50th (dead last) in “promoting power,” a measure of the percentage of 9th grade students who progress to 12th grade in three years. Only 61% of freshman rise to become seniors on time.
South Carolina has gained only 0.2 percent in its on-time graduation from the period from 1996 to 2006. Across the United States, the average state gain was 2.4 percent, and the Southeastern average gain was 5.6 percent during the same period.

SREB concluded that “Dropout factories” (those schools with the most persistent and troubling failure to graduate their students) made up half of high schools in South Carolina.

Randy Page, President of South Carolinians for Responsible Government, an education watchdog group in Columbia SC, expressed disappointment with the report’s findings.

“On one hand, South Carolina is spending on average over $12,000 per child at our public schools, even during the midst of a serious budget crisis. On the other hand, between one third and one half of students fail to graduate from high school. Parents and taxpayers should be outraged. They need answers, not more excuses.”

Click here to read the full report, “Gaining Ground on High School Graduation Rates in SREB States: Milestones and Guideposts”.

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