Snapshots from graduation ceremonies at Collier County high schools. Wochit
Graduation rates in Collier County Public Schools continued their steady climb in 2017, reaching 88.2 percent – up 15.7 points from 2011 – but the results are not entirely indicative of student achievement.
Using data from the Florida Department of Education, the Naples Daily News tracked Florida Standards Assessment scores in English Language Arts and mathematics among white, black, Hispanic, low-income, disabled and English language learners over three years and compared them to changes in the graduation rates of each group over the same period.
Gains in FSA scores roughly corresponded to increases in graduation rates for English language learners, low-income, Hispanic and white students. But no correlation at all was evident among the other two groups.
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Black students, whose ELA and math passing rates improved by 4 and 8 points respectively, saw a graduation rate increase of only 0.3 percentage points.
Disabled students made up the biggest outlier among groups. Those students saw improvements in ELA and math passing rates by 2 and 5 points, respectively, while their graduation rate jumped by 13 percentage points.
Collier Schools Superintendent Kamela Patton said she was proud of the skyrocketing graduation rate among disabled students and touted the district’s inclusion efforts as the catalyst for the surge.
Patton credited improved graduation rates among racial minority and economically disadvantaged students in part to the district’s partnerships with outside education organizations, as well as to increased summer school attendance and the strong foundation provided by Collier district elementary and middle schools.
But one factor in particular might be having the greatest effect on Collier’s graduation rates and would explain why student performances on FSA exams don’t match up.
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Florida law permits students who fail the FSA to instead use concordant scores on the SAT and ACT to meet graduation requirements.
The district recently began expanding the number of schools serving as SAT testing locations, and school counselors have increased efforts to encourage low-income students to apply for exam fee waivers.
In 2017, about 19 percent of Collier’s 3,000 graduates used a concordant score on a college entrance exam to graduate, according to the district. That was up from 9 percent of students in 2016 and 3 percent in 2012.
“They’ve always had that option, but the difference is now we’re ensuring more kids are using it,” Patton said. “We want to make sure kids have every possibility to succeed.”
The Naples Daily News was not able to obtain SAT and ACT test results for Collier students.
Natasha Ushomirsky, director of P-12 policy development at The Education Trust, a nonprofit organization that advocates for historically disadvantaged students, said the disparity between academic performance and graduation rates among minority groups in Collier raises questions about student preparedness and might be reflective of a national trend.
“Oftentimes we see a lot of students graduating who are not receiving adequate academic preparation to be successful in college or in a meaningful career,” Ushomirsky said.
“Nationally, kids are basically being passed through from one grade to another,” she said.
Rapidly rising graduation rates have fueled a growing suspicion among education experts that schools nationwide are increasingly giving in to pressure to boost graduation numbers without improving real student learning.
Chad Adelman, principal at nonprofit BellWether Education Partners and an expert in high school accountability, said the pressure is a relic of President George W. Bush’s No Child Left Behind policy, which sought to close the achievement gap between low-income and minority students and their more advantaged peers.
“It’s led some places to put processes in place to help students, particularly those at risk of dropping out,” Adelman said.
“But the negative side is that you risk having students shuffled along without being given academic opportunities,” he said.
The achievement gap
A second Naples Daily New analysis sought to measure whether improvements in the graduation rate among disadvantaged groups were also reflected in the achievement gap.
The analysis looked at ELA and math scores among black, Hispanic, low-income, disabled and English language learners over three years and compared them to the scores of white, non-economically disadvantaged, non-disabled and non-English language learners.
The results showed a major achievement gap that has persisted and at times slightly increased among all groups all while their graduation rates improved.
Black students were the only racial group whose graduation rates decreased in 2017, though it was by only 0.1 percentage point.
Disabled students saw the largest persisting achievement gap of 39 percentage points for ELA scores as compared to non-disabled students. The gap in math scores between the two groups grew from 31 to 33 points.
Meanwhile, the graduation rate gap between disabled and non-disabled students narrowed over the same period from 25.6 percentage points to 15 points, furthering the notion that Collier’s graduation rates might not be representative of student learning.
Collier’s achievement gaps for all groups were higher than the state average. The gap in ELA passage rates between Collier’s Hispanic and white students reached 29 percentage points, compared with 16 points statewide.
Graduation requirements
Only students who graduate in four years with a diploma are counted in the graduation rate. The rate does not include students who graduate with a GED.
To graduate, students must complete 18 to 24 credits with a minimum GPA of 2.0. Students must pass the Florida Standards Assessment exam or an equivalent test, such as the SAT. Class absences are not a factor in graduation eligibility.
Of the students not counted in Collier's graduation rate, 1.7 percent received a GED or special diploma, 1.9 received a certificate of completion and 4.7 percent are still enrolled. Just 3.4 percent dropped out, compared with 5.7 percent in 2013.
Collier’s breakdown
Each of Collier’s nine traditional high schools surpassed the state average of 82.3 percent. The only outlier was Collier Virtual School, with a rate of 46.2 percent.
Collier’s highest-performing traditional school was Lorenzo Walker Technical High School, with a graduation rate of 99.3 percent.
The county’s only charter high school with a graduating class, Marco Island Academy, had a 100 percent graduation rate.
Barron Collier, Gulf Coast and Immokalee had slight decreases in graduation rates while Lely and Golden Gate jumped about 5 percentage points ahead.
Asian and biracial students achieved the highest graduation rates.
American Indian and Pacific Islander students had the lowest numbers.
Graduation rates for Asian and biracial students were more than 20 percentage points higher than those of American Indian and Pacific Islander students and about 10 points higher than black and Hispanic students.
White students had rates about 7 points higher than Hispanic and black students.
Statewide, the graduation rate increased by 1.6 percentage points. Collier ranked 10th overall.
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