South Carolina public school graduation rate near rock bottom

Just 55 percent of high schools students in South Carolina graduate on time.

That’s according to the nationally recognized “Diplomas Count” study, a 50-state annual report released by Education Week in early June.

Minority students in the state face even grimmer odds; only 45 percent of African American students and 39 percent of Hispanic students earn a state diploma in four years. Statewide there were 167 public school students “lost” each day of the school year.

The 2010 “Diplomas Count” report tracked the high school class of 2006-07, the most recent year with complete data, finding that South Carolina continues to lag behind the national average of a 69 percent graduation rate. The state ranks 48th in the nation, ahead of just New Mexico and Nevada.

More troubling, the report indicated that South Carolina only improved its graduation rate by 1.5 percent over the last ten years – a period in which state officials and local districts spent millions of dollars on complex plans to remediate the widespread failures.

The data covers a period before the economic downturn began to impact state funding for schools, suggesting the dropout crisis is the result of governance rather than financial troubles. In 2007 public schools in South Carolina reported over $6.8 billion in operational spending and a further $2.1 billion in spending on infrastructure.

This report is just the latest in a series of publications about plummeting graduation rates. Another, released by the Southern Regional Educational Board (SREB), found that 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. Earlier this year, Education Week reported that South Carolina now leads the nation in rural “Dropout Factories,” a term for failing public schools with a graduation rates consistently below 60 percent.

“The system is obviously broken,” explained Randy Page, President of South Carolinians for Responsible Government (SCRG). “Public schools in South Carolina spend $9 billion a year and do little more than replicate the shameful black/white, poor/rich, and rural/urban divides that already plague our state.” Page and other reform advocates are calling for laws that encourage parental engagement and expand access to instructional choices. “When students are seated in a classroom that really fits their unique learning style and families have driven that process, we can begin to reverse this trend.”

Related posts:

1. South Carolina’s public schools ranks 48th in high school graduation rate
2. South Carolina official data shows public school spending continues to climb
3. Letter to editor: South Carolina lowers standards to make student test scores “rise”
4. SC schools given “D” for student achievement
5. South Carolina unemployment rate is 12,1%, third highest in nation and highest in state’s history