Tracking graduates

By Published by The Editorial Board

Published: October 15, 2008

It hasn’t been easy to figure out high school graduation and dropout rates in Virginia.

For a long time, one way to calculate the dropout rate was to compare the graduating class to the size of the ninth- grade class four years earlier. But that didn’t include all of the students, and the numbers didn’t match the official drop out rate.

High school graduation rates were one of the most “poorly tracked indicators in public education,” said Charles Pyle, a spokesman for the Virginia Department of Education.

Today, Virginia does a much better job tracking the progress of individual students through school. In fact, the state’s numbers are so much better that the Virginia Board of Education is considering tying accreditation to graduation rates.

School systems would get full credit for students who graduate with a high school diploma — even if it takes more than four years to do it — while receiving less credit for young people who earn a GED and the least number of points for a high school “completer.”

Just as the SOLs were phased in over a number of years, these new graduation requirements would be phased in over time. Just as with the SOLs, some Virginia school divisions already meet the proposed requirement of graduating at least 80 percent of their high school students.

Pittsylvania County Schools has an 81.9 percent high school graduation rate, although Gretna High School is below the proposed 80 percent benchmark. Danville Public Schools’ overall high school graduation rate is just 71.8 percent, but Galileo Magnet High School was well above the proposed 80 percent standard.

Tying school and division accreditation to high school graduation rates is just as wise as requiring students to pass Standards of Learning tests. The public wants proof that its massive financial investment in public education is producing verifiable results.

As Virginia’s Standards of Quality continue to evolve, it’s only logical to consider high school graduation rates. Isn’t the whole point of 13 years of public education to produce young people who have learned enough to graduate from high school?

Of course it is.