Wake Co. graduation rate continues to disappoint

[Sherifftruman]

Originally Posted by poppydog

I think michgc's post deserves a repost.

Wake County, while big, did not have as many graduates as other similar big systems in NC (Charlotte-Mecklenburg, or Guilford County). What are those other big systems doing that Wake is not?

Why does Chapel Hill Carrboro have a higher grad rate? Better students? Better teachers? More money per pupil (certainly so, but is that the deciding factor)? Maybe even a later high school start time (high school starts at 8:45)? As far as I know, CHCCS doesn't have more days in the school year or more hours or less professional development so I don't think those issues are big factors. I believe CHCCS averages about 20% free and reduced lunch as a school system, so while there is wealth there is also poverty as michgc mentioned.

What is Charlotte-Mecklenburg doing to get an 85.2% rate compared to WCPSS's 82.2%?

Overall the state high school graduation rate has risen a lot since they started tracking and they are touting that:

2014 NC High School Graduation Rate Highest in State History


You can look at the graduation rates for all the school systems in NC and individual schools at 4-Year Cohort Graduation Rate Report: 2010-11 Entering 9th Graders Graduating in 2013-14 or Earlier . I haven't found a table or list of all of the info on one document, but you can go through and look at each area of interest using the pulldowns.

And I have to take issue with this little bit of spin in the original WRAL article:


Since when is Northampton County "local" compared to Wake? Methinks WRAL was trying to make us feel better by throwing in all the poverty stricken counties with lower grad rates.

An entirely appropriate way to look at this would be to take the various school systems and see what they spend per pupil and compare graduation rates. Maybe it is possible that Wake Co is wasting money. The actual data might show that (though it will be a simplistic view of one part of it) but randomly tossing out headlines with absolutely no basis in fact does nothing.

[BoBromhal]

Originally Posted by michgc

Believe me, I am not one to fiercely defend Chapel Hill-Carrboro Schools, but the number BoBromhal quoted above is incorrect, assuming that is what he was referring to when he said the "oft-quoted BEST system in NC". Orange County Public Schools had a graduation rate of 85.6 NOT Chapel Hill-Carrboro City School District. CHCCS had a graduation rate of 90.7%, which is 10 percentage points higher than Wake. Of course, the systems aren't comparable in size, but contrary to popular belief, there is significant poverty in CH-Carr as well as wealth, so it's not just a system for the well-off (believe me, I know this firsthand!). Anyway, I wanted to set the record straight, and going with Bo's example, for a class of 500, 411 would graduate in Wake, while 453 would graduate in CH-C.

Also, looking at some other big school systems, the Wake County graduation rate is not impressive for a fairly well-off, educated area. The other two "big city" systems in NC were both higher, with Guilford County having a graduation rate of 88.5% and Charlotte's being 85.2%. And since I like to compare where I came from - looking at my former school district - Fairfax County, VA which is often compared to Wake County in size, their 4-year graduation rate last year was 92%.

if what they posted in the article was Orange County and that is what I used, then I stand corrected.

And I make no claims on amount spent/property taxes in each system.

Just that "the highest in _____ years", continued improvement, and 80-some percent in general is not a failing system.