The Good News and Bad News of Worcester’s Dropout Rates

Thursday, June 21, 2012

Ashley Palumbo, GoLocalWorcester Contributor

Worcester Public Schools have posted mixed results regarding its ability to retain students through to graduation.

3.7% of enrolled students dropped out from Worcester Public Schools during the 2010-2011 school year, a decrease from 3.8% the year before – continuing a trend of decline that began during the 2007-2008 school year. Worcester does well compared to Springfield and Boston schools, which had drop-out rates of 11.7% and 6.4% respectively during the 2010-2011 school year. While these figures are a good sign for the city, Worcester’s drop-out rate is still higher than the overall state rate.

“Any decrease is positive,” said Worcester School Committee member John Monfredo. “But these statistics are certainly a call to action.”

According to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, the percentage of drop-outs in Worcester has been consistently higher than the percentage of dropouts in the state over all for the past decade. According to DESE, the state drop-out rate was only 2.7%, for the 2010-2011 school year.

“We have a large urban population and many needs in the city. We’re making every effort to ensure that reduction,” Monfredo said.

Preventing Dropouts

Worcester Public Schools launched a new program this year to begin targeting at-risk students in middle school. The Challenge & Reach Academy helps students in grades 7 through 10 who are falling behind.

“A lot of kids don’t see the light at the end of tunnel. They might be 17 or 18 and repeating the ninth grade, and they feel like they’re going to be stuck here for four more years,” said Jeff Creamer, assistant principal of the academy.

The Academy uses a computer program to help students make up the credits they’re missing while continuing to take on a full course load. That enables them to get back on track with their peers more quickly.

“Any kids who are struggling get sent to us, whether it’s because of attendance, poor grades, staying back or poor behavior that causes poor attendance,” Creamer said. “They stay with us until they have enough credits to move back.”

Individual School Results

North High School is the only Worcester school to see its drop-out rate consistently increase over the past few years. During the 2010-2011 school year, 7.5% of students dropped out – the highest rate in the district by far. That’s up from 6.1% in 2007-2008. Claremont Academy saw a slight increase in the same time period, from 3.2% to 3.6%, but the school also saw its dropout rate decrease to a low of 2.3% during the 2008-2009 school year. Burncoat Senior High School saw the biggest improvement in its drop-out rate, from 8% in 2007-2008 to 4.9% in 2010-2011.

Tracking Dropouts

While Monfredo believes the statistics don’t tell the whole story, he said they do serve as an important reminder that more needs to be done. And thanks to changes made several years ago, the data provided by the DESE more accurately reflects the drop-out rates in public schools.

Since the 2005-2006 school year, the Department has included data from the General Education Development (GED) Testing Services. This makes it easier to track students who earn a GED and are therefore not considered drop-outs. According to Monfredo, Worcester Schools benefit from this change because the district proactively encourages students who have dropped out to pursue a GED.

The DESE also now checks the enrollment status of transfer students. Any transfer student that does not re-enroll in an in-state public school by October 1 is added to the drop-out count.