Four-year graduation rates for city public high school students broke the 60 percent barrier for the first time in history, and Queens schools graduated students at a higher rate than the citywide average.
The city’s graduation rate for 2008, including those who graduated in August, sat at 60.7 percent, while the Queens graduation came in at 63.1 percent, according to data released by the State Department of Education on Monday, June 22.
“After years of near stagnation, our reforms have increased the graduation rate each year since we’ve been in office – and I’m so proud to see that graduation rates are up again this year,” said Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who announced the data with a slew of school officials at City Hall on Monday. “This year, English and math scores went way up, schools got much safer, and many more of our high school seniors have earned their diplomas.”
The 60.7 and 63.1 rates include the August graduation rates at each of the schools, and the June rates were slightly lower with 56.4 percent for the city and 58.3 for the borough.
Queens had schools on both ends of the spectrum – some with graduation rates near 100 percent while others came in well below the 60 percent citywide average.
The Queens High School for the Sciences – founded in 2002 and located on the campus of York College – had a 91 percent graduation for students who graduated in June of 2008 and a 100 percent rate for that year when you include students who graduated in August.
“Going out of the way [to help students graduate] was so worth it,” said Queens High School for the Sciences Principal Jie Zhan. “It was really great to know that our students are wonderful. It’s a great sense of accomplishment.”
However, other schools throughout the borough did not have such success. Jamaica High School reported a 39 percent graduation for June of 2008, a decrease from the previous two years of 46 and 42 percent, respectively. John Adams High School in Ozone Park came in with a 41 percent graduation for June of 2008, which was a decrease from the previous two years, and Richmond Hill High School had a 41 percent graduation rate for June of this year.
Meanwhile, dropout rates at city schools decreased by 3.3 percent to a new low of 13.5 percent from 2007 to 2008.
“These numbers are encouraging, and I want to congratulate every student, teacher, principal and parent for their efforts, but I also want to say that we will never rest until all kids are achieving and graduating,” said United Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten.
To see how your local school fared, log onto /www.emsc.nysed.gov/irts/pressRelease/20090622/
