Schools

LEUSD African American Students Make Great Strides In Closing The Achievement Gap

Graduation rates increase and dropouts fall among this student population.

The overall 2011-12 high school graduation rate in the Lake Elsinore Unified School District beat state and county averages, it was announced Tuesday.

According to data out today from the California Department of Education, the LEUSD had a 2011-12 high school graduation rate of 89.4 percent, compared to 82.3 percent at the county level, and 78.5 percent statewide.

Among the LEUSD’s highest student populations – Hispanics, whites and African Americans – the numbers showed a staggering increase among one group: African Americans. The graduation rate among this student demographic in the district increased nearly 5 percentage points from 85.7 percent in the 2010-11 school year to 90.3 percent in 2011-12, according to the latest figures.

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For Hispanic students, there was also an uptick. In 2011-12, the graduation rate was 88.4 percent compared to 88 percent the previous year, the latest figures show.

But the graduation rate among non-Hispanic white students fell slightly from 91.8 percent in 2010-11 to 90.7 percent in 2011-12, according to the figures.

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Overall, the district fell by nearly a half percentage point from a graduation rate of 89.8 percent in the 2010-11 school year.

In addition to the improved graduation rate for African American students in the LEUSD, Tuesday’s numbers also show that among this demographic the dropout rate in the district was 3.2 percent in 2011-12, compared to 5.6 percent among Hispanic students and 4.4 percent among non-Hispanic whites.

For the 2010-11 school year, the district’s African American students had a dropout rate of 11.4 percent; the rate for Hispanic students was 7.9 percent and for non-Hispanic white students 4.7 percent.

During a Tuesday morning press call with State Superintendent of Schools Tom Torlakson, officials discussed the California’s “closing of the achievement gap.”

Statewide, African American and Hispanic students showed gains in grad rates in 2011-12. According to Tuesday’s numbers, the statewide graduation rate for African American students was 65.7 percent, a 2.9 percent increase over the 2010-11 school year. For Hispanic students, the 2011-12 rate was 73.2 percent, a 1.8 percent increase over the previous year.

While officials were pleased with the upward direction, they acknowledged there is still a long way to go.

“We’re going to have to double our efforts” if the rates are to equalize with non-Hispanic white students by 2020, said Dr. Pamela Short Powell, president of the California Association of African-American Superintendents and Administrators.

Torlakson said improved graduation rates have been the result of better data that allows educators to identify key areas in need of improvement. Tuesday’s numbers were calculated based on four-year cohort data, meaning they track the same group of students from grades nine through 12.

“There has been a greater focus on closing the achievement gap,” Torlakson said. “The focus is what has driven a lot of this. It’s part of an accountability system.”


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