District falls short on federal standards despite higher graduation rate

DARLINGTON — Despite higher graduation rates district-wide and at three of its four public high schools and despite meeting federal requirements for improving graduation rates, the Darlington County School District and two of its high schools fell short of meeting federal standards under the No Child Left Behind Act in 2008.

South Carolina, too, fell short of making Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) under the NCLB Act in 2008.

Still, despite not meeting AYP, district officials and Superintendent of Education Dr. Rainey Knight are happy with the rise in the district’s graduation rate. “That was our big goal,” Knight said. “We were very pleased with our graduation rate.”

Darlington County’s graduation rate for 2008 rose to 78.9 percent from 66.5 percent in 2007. The district had set a goal of 75 percent for the year, Knight said. And, she said she expects to see the final number go to at least 80 percent for the year once appeals submitted by the district over what it sees as discrepancies in the rate acted on by the state.

“We know we’ll be over 80 percent once the appeals are presented,” she said. Once that final figure is in, district officials will set a goal for improving graduation rates in 2009, Knight said.

Darlington County met 21 of its 29 NCLB goals in 2008, the same as in 2007, while the state met 27 of its 37 objectives, down from last year’s 28 of 37 goals met.

NCLB is an all-or-nothing rating system in which schools must make all of their AYP targets or face sanctions. Most public schools in South Carolina have from 17 to 21 AYP targets, and failing to meet even one means that school does not meet AYP.

“We are pleased the graduation rate has increased,” said Rainey Knight, “but this is about so much more than numbers. These are our children. We’re able to help them succeed because we are strengthening their weaknesses and building their skills. We’re taking steps that may not always help our rate but are in the best interests of the children. Ultimately, that is how we should be judged.”

The State Department of Education released AYP data for high schools and school districts last Wednesday. Release of the high school ratings had been delayed because of computational errors, and district and state ratings were delayed as well because high school data were key factors in the larger groups.

Hartsville High School’s graduation rate rose from 62.4 percent in 2007 to 71.3 percent in 2008, meeting its AYP goal for graduation rates for 2008. But the school failed to meet three of its total 21 AYP objectives, meaning it did not meet AYP for 2008.

Darlington High School saw its graduation rate rise sharply in 2008, from 62.7 percent in 2007 to 81.3 percent, also meeting its AYP target for graduation rates. But Darlington High missed two of its 21 AYP objectives, so the school did not meet AYP for 2008.

Two schools did meet AYP, Mayo High School for Math, Science and Technology and Lamar High School.

Mayo met all nine of its AYP objectives, although it saw its graduation rate slip slightly from 100 percent in 2007 to 98.8 percent in 2008, still within the AYP goal for graduation rates.
Lamar High School met all 13 of its AYP goals and raised its graduation rate 62.5 percent in 2007 to 78.7 percent this year.

The high school graduation rate is calculated based on the number of students who begin high school in the ninth grade and graduate four years later.

The school district is required to provide documentation for any student who does not finish 12th grade showing that the student was home schooled, transferred to another school, sent to the S.C. Department of Juvenile Justice or enrolled in a degree-granting program through the Adult Education Department. Students who do not complete 12th grade and who do not meet one of those criteria are considered to have not graduated.

Knight said the district works with students who do not graduate in an effort to ensure they complete their education, even though that may count against the district in calculating graduation rates.

“If you follow our process, you’ll see that we’re not adding and subtracting numbers, we’re accounting for the actual students that did not graduate with their class,” she said.

“NCLB goals are noble and appropriate, and there’s no doubt that our schools need to improve at faster rates,” State Superintendent of Education Jim Rex said. “But unless this rating system is revised to incorporate a more common sense approach, the law will lose all credibility with the public.”