Disputed Report Shows Arkansas High School Graduation Rates Unchanged
by June 8, 2012 7:50 am 166 views
A new report released Thursday indicates that Arkansas' high school graduation rate didn't change, while the national rate increased more than 7%. However, state education officials dispute the claim.
John Lyon with our content partner, the Arkansas News Bureau reports:
The report by Education Week magazine states that Arkansas’ high school graduation rate was 70.5 percent in 1999 and 70.6 percent in 2009. The national rate rose from 66 percent in 1999 to 73.4 percent in 2009.
Forty-two states and the District of Columbia had bigger increases than Arkansas, with Arizona topping the list with a 24.1 percent increase.
State Department of Education spokesman Seth Blomeley said the departmen
t’s methodology for calculating graduation rates is different from Education Week’s. Currently, the department’s methodology is based on a model by the U.S. Department of Education, he said.
“The Arkansas graduation rate for the class of 2011 using the model from the U.S. Department of Education is 80.7 percent,” Blomeley said.
The Arkansas Department of Education offers more analysis on the methodology differences in calculating the rates and there is more demographic data to glean.
Click here for more.