Graduation data

The State released newly calculated graduation and dropout rates earlier this week. This marks the first time that the state has used the 4-year cohort method, a method that will be used by all states and thus lend some consistency to data reporting. It is also the first time that the State has been able to track students moving in and out of districts, as well as those obtaining GEDs, as a result of the new Single Student Record Database.

The Detroit News headline was: Michigan Graduation rates: 25 Percent Don't finish in four years

The Detroit Free Press stated: New formula yields good news on Detroit graduate rate (new calculations show that to be 58% - a number below previous state estimates but well above numbers coming out of recent national studies).

One of UWSEM's prime agenda items is that of keeping kids in school and seeing that they graduate. To support this effort, the UWSEM Research Department will be doing a thorough analysis of the data for schools in our region.

One of the other important components of the new data is the ability to look at graduation rates by race, ethnicity and gender. Studies have long shown racial/ethnic achievement gaps and many United Ways across the country have made a goal of reducing those gaps - Dane County being the preeminent example.

I took a look at statewide statistics on graduation rates by race/ethnicity and gender and the gaps are both startling and disturbing (see attached Powerpoint chart: Graduation%20Gaps.ppt). Among the findings:

• Males graduate at lower rates than females for all race/ethic groups
• African American males have the lowest graduation rate of any subgroup - 48.4 percent - and show the biggest difference with their female comparison group
• African American females have a higher rate (64.8%), but are second lowest among females (the Hispanic female rate is 63.5%)
• Hispanic males have the second lowest graduation rate at 52.3 percent
• Asian and Pacific Islanders have the highest graduation rates for both males and females, just ahead of whites
• Native Americans and students identifying themselves as Multi-Racial fall between the extremes

The high school graduation initiative is critical for our region. As Lou Glazer of Michigan Future Inc, says of our state and our region - "We must get younger and more educated or get poorer." Helping to increase graduation rates and decrease the gaps is an agenda that we must all get behind.

Kurt Metzger
Research Director, United Way for Southeastern Michigan
kurt.metzger@LiveUnitedSEM.org