Charter graduation rate tops District's
by Paul Socolar
Three-fourths of Philadelphia’s charter school students graduate in four years.
The School District’s Office of Accountability now tracks four-year and six-year cohort graduation rates for students in the city’s charter schools. For the “class of 2011” – students who entered 9th grade in a Philadelphia charter school in fall 2007 – the four-year graduation rate was 75 percent. That exceeds the overall rate for District schools by 14 points, according to District data provided to the Notebook.
However, there are some marked differences in the population of charter high schools compared to District high schools, according to District data. In charters, 26 percent of students were from families that qualify for TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families), compared to 37 percent in District schools. The percentage of special education students was 3 points lower in charter schools (14 percent vs. 17 percent), and the percentage of African American students was 4 points lower in charters (61 percent vs. 65 percent). Latino percentages were the same.
Comments (4)
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 03/28/2012 - 15:07.
Does this mean that the students actually attended all four years and graduated from the charter school that they started in? Or does it mean that they graduated from either their charter OR another school?
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 03/28/2012 - 16:06.
While I know charters like to claim they are not kicking out students, I've received two students in the last month in one class who were kicked out of charters. Both have an IEP and are far below in their reading level. Who do these students count for / against?
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 03/28/2012 - 18:38.
I just received a charter school student last week as well.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 03/29/2012 - 09:52.
They need to do a study that shows how many students started in the Charter and how many finished. Basically, if they can kick kids out, of course their numbers will look better than tradiitonal public schools. That being said, I would like to see what programs they have available that bring students up to grade level.
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