Learning & Education
Focus On ...

• Focus On:  How Are Vermont's High School Students Doing? 
     Part 1:  A Look at High School Graduation Rates

• Educational Ideas:  Safety First, Terrorism Alters Schools' Plans

• Links to Learning & Education On-Line:  Vermont's Educational Standards

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How Are Vermont's High School Students Doing?
   Part 1:  A Look at High School Graduation Rates -- Page 2

Our local schools ...
Recently, the Dept. of Education posted a page entitled "Estimated High School Graduation Rates by High School (1999 and 2000)."  It listed average enrollments for each of the State's public high schools, as well as the Estimated High School Graduation Rate, which was calculated by dividing the total number of 1999 and 2000 graduates by the total number of 1999 and 2000 graduates plus the cumulative number of dropouts over four years for the Classes of 1999 and 2000, by the following formula:

(99Grad+00Grad / (99Grad+00Grad+99Drop+00Drop)

The following tables provide these figures for the high schools in DownStreet's main readership area -- Addison and southern Chittenden counties -- along with those of other high schools around the State for the sake of comparison.

Enrollments ...

As for enrollments, the largest high school in the State for the reporting period was the Essex Community Ed. Center with 1,453 students, or roughly 4.6% of all the State's 31,305 high school students.  

Of the high schools in DownStreet's readership area, CVU is far and away the largest and ranks 3rd overall state-wide with 1,152 students.  This may go a long way toward explaining CVU's push for expanding their facilities.  As a comparison, both the Burlington and Rutland Senior High's -- ranked 6th and 7th state-wide -- had enrollments of 1,068 and 1,048 students, respectively.  

In contrast, 4 high schools in the State had fewer than 100 students which placed them at the 62nd through 65th spots -- Cabot School [90 students], Rochester Elem/High School [87], Concord School [84], and Craftsbury Schools, the smallest in the State at 74 students.

Of the other schools in our readership area, Middlebury ranked 14th with 752 students, Mount Abe was 21st with 581, Otter Valley was 27th with 498 students, and Vergennes was 34th with 393 students enrolled.  

By urban standards, of course, none of Vermont's high schools are large, not even those in our largest cities.  But the real question here is how well our schools fared when it comes to graduation rates.  ...

How did our local high schools fare when it comes to students graduating?  ...

Graduation rates ...
As we noted earlier, when looking at the data on graduation rates between 1981 and 1999, of late and overall, Vermont was faring very well in graduating students from high school -- both compared to other states around the country, and in comparison with how it had been doing some 20 years ago.  To recall, for the last year of that data, Vermont was graduating a little more than 4 of every 5 high school students with a 1999 rate of 80.26%, which placed it 6th in the nation among all states and D.C.

These figures from the State pick up where that data left off, with graduation rates for 1999-2000.  And the figure remains almost identical state-wide, with an overall graduation rate of 81%.  

As for the individual high schools, some two-thirds -- 40 of the 61 schools ranked state-wide {those with fewer than 100 students were not ranked} -- posted graduation rates at or above the state-wide average.

Burr & Burton, ranked 30th for enrollment with 470 students, topped the list at 96% -- graduating more than 19 of every 20 students.  The smaller Thetford Academy -- ranked 44th in enrollment with 267 students -- and Stowe Middle / High School --  45th in enrollment with 219 students -- tied for 2nd place with graduation rates of 94% each.

At first glance, it might seem as if there was at least some correlation between school size and graduation rate, with only one of the top 10 for graduation rates -- Spaulding -- also ranking in the top 10 for enrollment.  However, the largest high school in the State -- Essex Community Ed. Center -- posted an impressive graduation rate of 89%, roughly equaling the best-ever overall state-wide averages of 1995 and 1996, when Vermont finished 1st nation-wide, and earning it a tie for 11th place -- along with Whitcomb Jr. / Sr. & Harwood -- for 1999-2000. 

As for the other local high schools in our readership area, all but one placed at or above the state-wide average.  Both CVU and Vergennes placed 21st on the list with a graduation rate of 86%, tied for that position with Williamstown Middle / High, Mill River, and Leland & Gray.  Next comes Middlebury, posting a graduation rate of 85%, tied with Montpelier for that position.  Otter Valley finished 33rd at 82%, tied with Arlington Memorial and Wilmington.  

The only school in our readership area that fell below the state-wide average was Mount Abe, with a graduation rate of 77%, or somewhat more than 3 of every 4 students, about 4% below the state-wide average.  Of the 61 schools ranked, that placed Mount Abe tied for 50th -- along with Northfield Middle / High, North Country, and Brattleboro.  Burlington Senior High and Winooski were last on the list, with graduation rates of 67% and 65%, respectively, roughly translating into graduation for only 2 of every 3 students.

What do the data show?
If high school graduation rates are, indeed, a reasonable measure of the relative health of our public school system, it would seem that, overall, Vermont's health has been improving fairly steadily over the past 20 years.  From a graduation rate close to the average for all states in 1981, which gave Vermont a 21st place ranking, placing it at the low end of the top half, Vermont had pretty steadily increased its ranking, including a fairly consistent ranking among the top 12 states, and rankings at or near the top 5% for each of the last five years of the reporting period -- between 1995 and 1999.

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Of course, the data may raise some questions.  State-wide, what, if anything, accounted for Vermont's continuing progress during the 20 year period?  And why, for example, after two 1st-place finishes -- in 1995 and 1996, with graduation rates approaching 90% -- did Vermont's rate again decline as much as it did?  On the local scene, is Mount Abe's relatively poor showing significant?  And if so, what might account for it?  

Some may question whether, in fact, high school graduation rates are an index to the relative health of our State's public school system in general, or of the quality of education at the local school level.  In this context, some have accused our public schools of simply passing students on from one grade to the next, without adequate concern for grade-level standards and skills.  If that is true, then the graduation rate may not necessarily tell us that we are doing well, but only that we are doing better than other state school systems who may also be at least somewhat 'ill'. 

Nonetheless, one thing which Vermont's improved graduation rates do tell us, unambiguously, is that students are not dropping out of school.  At the very least, then, and very unlike some states, or the District of Columbia, Vermont's high school students seem to be sticking it out until graduation.  And that much, at least, can't be anything but good news.

But the story cannot end there.  What do Vermont's high school students do once they graduate?

For the answer to that question, we invite you to return next month for Part 2:  Vermont High School Grads, Off to College?

In the meanwhile, if you would like to review some of the current material on State standards for education, check out this month's Links to Learning & Education On-Line.

lmc

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