All but three of Erie County's school districts improved the graduation rates for 2004 freshmen who received or would have received diplomas four years later, according to the latest numbers released by the New York State Education Dept. Monday.
In a WBEN analysis of the numbers for Erie County, only Depew, Hamburg and Frontier rates dropped from the prior year- but all three districts are well above the state's 70.9 percent average.
The City of Buffalo's 52 percent rate is still low enough to place it dead last in the entire county, yet only one other district ( Grand Island with a 7 percentage point increase to 92 % graduation rate ) improved more in a year-to-year comparison.
Iroquois and East Aurora tied for the highest graduation rate in Erie County, with a 95 percent graduation rate. East Aurora was also one of the most improved districts locally, rising 7 percentage points.
After receiving the date Monday, the Board of Regents is expected to debate the issue today, looking at whether to require schools to issue only Regents diplomas based on tougher statewide standards. They will also discuss the performance of students in various ethnic, racial and disabled populations.
"There is no issue more important to the Regents...While there have been some modest improvements over time, we know that far too many children are failing to graduate," Regents Chancellor Merryl Tisch said in a prepared statement
Statewide graduation rates are steadily increasing overall, but still remain low. Specifically, among the 2004 cohort (i.e., the group of students who began ninth grade in 2004), the percentage of students who graduated with a Regents or a local diploma in June 2008 was 70.9%; that is up from 69.3% in the previous year. By August 2008, 73.6% of the 2004 cohort had graduated.
The data also show that a fifth year of high school increases the graduation rate. Among the 2003 cohort, for example, the five-year graduation rate improved to 75.6% -- a six point improvement over that cohort’s four-year rate. A fifth year is particularly significant for black and Hispanic students. For black students who started ninth grade in 2003, almost 4,000 more students graduated in the fifth year; 3,945 more Hispanic students graduated after a fifth year.
The Erie County breakdown:
Source: NYS Education Dept./WBEN Research by Dave Debo
Top Ten In Erie Co.
| District |
Graduation Rate
for Freshmen in 2004 |
East Aurora
|
95% |
Iroquois
|
95 % |
Eden
|
94 % |
Clarence
|
93 % |
Orchard
Park |
93 % |
Williamsville
|
93 % |
Grand Island
|
92 % |
North Collins
|
92 % |
Alden
|
91 % |
Lancaster
|
90 % |
|
Erie Co.'s Most Improved
| District |
Gain over
2003 |
Graduation Rate
for Freshmen in 2004 |
Grand Is.
|
+10 points |
92 % |
Buffalo
|
+7 points |
52 % |
East Aurora
|
+7 points |
95 % |
No. Collins
|
+6 points |
92 % |
Lackawanna
|
+6 points |
67 % |
Tonawanda
|
+5 points |
79 % |
Sweet Home
|
+5 points |
89 % |
Orchard Park
|
+5 points |
93 % |
Alden
|
+5 points |
91 % |
Eden
|
+5 points |
94 % |
|
Erie Co.'s Least Improved
| District |
Change
over 2003 |
Graduation
Rate
for Freshmen in 2004 |
Depew
|
-3
points |
77 % |
| Hamburg |
-3
points |
82 % |
| Frontier |
-1
point |
81 % |
| Ken Ton |
No change |
76 % |
| West Seneca |
+1
point |
84 % |
| Williamsville |
+1
point |
93 % |
| Cleveland Hill |
+2
points |
83 % |
| Holland |
+2
points |
88 % |
Springville-
Griffith Inst. |
+3
points |
84 % |
Amherst
|
+3
points |
88 % |
|
District-by-District: How Did Your School Do?
| DISTRICT |
Graduation Rate
for Freshmen in 2004 |
Change from 2003 |
| Akron |
86 percent |
+4 percentage points |
| Alden |
91 percent |
+ 5 percentage points |
| Amherst |
88 percent |
+3 percentage points |
| Buffalo |
52 percent |
+7 percentage points |
| Cheektowaga |
77 percent |
+4 percentage points |
| Clarence |
93 percent |
+3 percentage points |
| Cleveland Hill |
83 percent |
+2 pecentage points |
| Depew |
77 percent |
-3 percentage points |
| East Aurora |
95 percent |
+7 percentage points |
| Eden |
94 percent |
+ 5 percentage points |
| Frontier |
81 percent |
-1 percentage point |
| Grand Island |
92 percent |
+10 percentage points |
| Hamburg |
82 percent |
-3 percentage points |
| Holland |
88 percent |
+2 percentage points |
| Iroquois |
95 percent |
+4 percentage points |
| Kenmore Tonawanda |
76 percent |
No Change |
| Lackawanna |
67 percent |
+6 percentage points |
| Lakeshore |
73 percent |
+3 percentage points |
| Lancaster |
90 percent |
+ 4 percentage points |
| Maryvale |
79 percent |
+3 percentage points |
| North Collins |
92 percent |
+6 percentage points |
| Orchard Park |
93 percent |
+ 5 percentage points |
| Sloan |
77 percent |
+3 percentage points |
| Springville- Griffith Inst. |
84 percent |
+3 percentage points |
| Sweet Home |
89 percent |
+5 percentage points |
| Tonawanda |
79 percent |
+5 percentage points |
| West Seneca |
84 percent |
+1 percentage point |
| Williamsville |
93 percent |
+1 percentage point |
Complete statewide district-by-district numbers are available online here for : All students | by race & ethnicity | by economic status | by gender
Toll Free: 800.616.WBEN
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