Graduation rates in Baltimore City are always a hot topic. I have lived in the DC/Baltimore area for almost 9 years and have always heard the statistic that Baltimore City's graduation rate consistently teeters around the 50% mark. This is terrible, and does not demonstrate the change the city needs in order to grow and improve. If 50% is bad, then 38.5% is horrendous. The latter and the lower percentage for graduation rates in Baltimore City was published by USA Today in 2006 based on 2002-2003 data (which was the most recent at the time.) Why the discrepancy of approximately 12.5%? Well, USA Today explains that typically graduation rates are calculated based on the number of students who drop out. The study done by USA Today did not use drop out rates, instead it focused on students who entered the 9th grade and then successfully graduated on time, in 4 years, and received a standard diploma. Basically, only every third student who enters a BCPSS school in 9th grade has a probability of graduating on time and receiving a diploma. That is terrible. Now, that Baltimore City has the 4 years and out rule for high school students (meaning they do not allow students to repeat grades or recover classes except in summer or twilight school), I believe using actually graduation data instead of drop out data is much more accurate. As the first senior class of school #430 is getting ready to graduate this year, we have a sizeable group of 12th graders who have not dropped out, but will not graduate either, because they lack the 21 credits needed to graduate. By the old method, these students would not have been calculated in the statistic.
So, what are we doing? Where are we going? Statistics like this make me want to pull my hair out. On one hand, being a teacher is amazing, because you do rule the world in your own classroom, and if you work hard enough you can definitely affect change...in your own classroom. And you should feel good about that, but it is also too easy to get caught up in that and to lose sight of the bigger problems at large. It's going to take more than a group of good teachers and a few good schools to turn this system around. Hell, at the moment, I believe even if you had an "excellent" and highly qualified teacher in every classroom in Baltimore City it still would not be enough to turn the city around. It's not just about education reform, because it is not enough. The standard of living in urban cities needs to be reformed and improved. I used to think poverty and lack of a good education was sort of a chicken or the egg scenario, but I do not anymore. You cannot change one without influencing the other. Both cycles must be broken in the urban environment before we will see a significant change/improvement in either issue.
Here is the link to the USA Today Article: http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2006-06-20-dropout-rates_x.htm
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I agree - the low graduation rate is horrific, but what scares me even more is that I'm sure that 38.5% is AFTER the city automatically socially promotes or graduates students who don't deserve it. Working closely with our graduating class, I've had to document EVERY time we've sent out letters, made phone calls, had student conferences, made announcements in class, or posted signs about graduation requirements as a way to cover all our bases. However, it has already been brough to my attention that if a parent complains that we didn't do enough to help graduate their child, they will automatically win the argument becuase the system HAS failed them. What can BCPSS do to address this problem? I'd love for some suggestions...
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