Graduation Rates

Baltimore's public schools are being recognized as "revitalized" and on an upward trajectory in a national report released last week. As part of the March 2011 Grad Nation Summit, bringing together more than 800 education and policymaking leaders in Washington, D.C., Baltimore was among four school systems cited for significant progress over the last decade. The report, "Building a Grad Nation: Progress and Challenge in Ending the High School Dropout Epidemic, 2010-2011 Annual Report," highlights that the high school graduation rate in Baltimore City Public Schools has increased approximately 12 percentage points since 1996 (16 percentage points if students who take five years to graduate are counted)

Our leaders in Washington face tough budget issues ("Obama budget would have big impact in MD," April 11). But one proposal we should all agree on is for targeted investments in local pre-kindergarten learning. As a grandfather, I support giving America's children a better educational start. As a retired Army general, I see this as a sound investment in making our next generation more competitive and contributing to our national security. The defense department estimates that 75 percent of all Americans age 17-24 are unable to join the military.

Education Week released its annual report on graduation rates Friday and Montgomery, Baltimore and Anne Arundel counties rank high on a list of the 50 largest districts in the nation for 2009. Montgomery has a graduation rate of 87 percent, the best in the nation for large systems. Baltimore County came in fourth and Anne Arundel was ranked sixth. Baltimore City came in  47th with a graduation rate of 50 percent.  Howard County's school system is not large enough to be in the top 50. Education Week calculates the graduation rate differently from the state, and so the numbers are not always consistent with what school system's report each year to Maryland school officials.

Coppin State University has a serious problem with very low rates of student retention and graduation. Last December, the University System of Maryland Board of Regents created a Special Review Committee to look into this problem further and make recommendations. This is of special interest to me, as I served as a member of the faculty at Coppin for 12 years, from 1999 until 2011, including service as Faculty Senate president in 2005-2007. Historically, Coppin's core mission has been to provide much-needed access to quality higher education for the citizens of Baltimore City, especially African-American men and women who often must contend with social and economic barriers because of race.

Gov. Martin O'Malley, speaking at the first statewide forum on college completion, called on Maryland's higher education institutions Tuesday to devise new ways to use technology to bolster graduation rates. "We've done a much better job in getting people to college," O'Malley told educators assembled at Morgan State University for the forum. "We need to improve getting people through college. " O'Malley has called for 55 percent of Maryland adults to have a college degree or advanced certification by 2025.

A recent survey has disclosed that while athletes at Division I colleges and universities graduate at a higher rate than non-athletes, fewer than 40 percent of football and basketball players receive their degrees in five years.The survey, in which 262 of 295 colleges responded, was reported yesterday in the Chronicle of Higher Education, a weekly journal.Its findings, based on five-year graduation rates for students from 1984 to 1989, include:* More than 56 percent of Division I athletes graduate within five ++ years, compared to about 48 percent of all students.

IN THESE days of global competitiveness, a nation that fails to move ahead falls behind. That is the first lesson that can be drawn from a recent report comparing graduation rates of the world's industrialized countries.Lesson two: The United States is falling behind on several important education indicators.The study by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development found that the United States is no longer No. 1 in high school completion rates. Of the 29 countries studied, the United States ranked next to last, beating out only Mexico, in the proportion of high school graduates.

After about a decade of relatively steady increases, the graduation rate of black students at Maryland public colleges has declined, according to statistics compiled by the University System of Maryland. Moreover, significant gains by black students in recent years have not kept up with retention and graduation rates among all college students in the state's public university system, leading to a slight increase in the so-called achievement gap, officials said. The data were presented yesterday at a meeting of the education policy committee of the university system's Board of Regents.

The NCAA yesterday announced dozens of proposed reforms designed to clean up college basketball. Linking scholarship allotments to graduation rates and lessening the importance of AAU tournaments in the recruiting process were among the recommendations of a 27-person committee, which spent 10 months studying the game and its ills.Some of the committee's recommendations could become NCAA rules as early as the 2000-2001 school year."We asked these folks to be `practical idealists,' " said Kenneth Shaw, the Syracuse chancellor who chaired the Division I Working Group to Study Basketball Issues.

EVERYONE who loves college sports applauds the opportunity afforded athletes who get scholarships to big time programs. Competition, travel and the challenges of university life in the NCAA's Division I surely broaden and educate. The joy of victory and the agony of defeat are lessons for life.The growth of international basketball leagues -- with many more jobs for players -- represent another reason to nurture hoop dreams.But the name of the game is still education -- and not just because the athlete will need another source of income some day. The nation's colleges and universities need to be held accountable for the bargains they make -- and too often break.

In keeping with national trends, 60 percent more women than men enroll at Towson University. Graduation rates for women versus men are similar. It wasn't that long ago that universities were tripping over themselves to increase the enrollment and graduation of women. At a time when universities retain and graduate fewer men, baseball and soccer teams are excellent recruitment opportunities and incentives toward graduation ("Towson president decides to cut baseball, men's soccer," March 8)

Baltimore continues to lead area school systems in improving its dropout rate, and most districts in the region are making progress in graduating more students in four years, according to new high school data released Monday by the Maryland State Department of Education. Statewide, the Class of 2012 saw steady growth in the percentage of students who earned a high school diploma in four years at 83.6 percent, up from 82.8 percent of students who graduated in 2011. Meanwhile, the number of students who dropped out in 2012 fell to 10.3 percent, down from 11.2 percent, according to the department.

Baltimore teachers are voicing concern about a controversial program at nine city schools aimed at reducing out-of-school student suspensions. The program rewards teachers and principals with cash bonuses of up to $9,500 for keeping troublesome or disruptive students in class rather than sending them home on suspension, and the union worries that such financial incentives might blind some administrators and staff to bad behavior or even cause them...

Gov. Martin O'Malley, speaking at the first statewide forum on college completion, called on Maryland's higher education institutions Tuesday to devise new ways to use technology to bolster graduation rates. "We've done a much better job in getting people to college," O'Malley told educators assembled at Morgan State University for the forum. "We need to improve getting people through college. " O'Malley has called for 55 percent of Maryland adults to have a college degree or advanced certification by 2025.

Et cetera Maryland's graduation success rate rises again University of Maryland teams posted their best Graduation Success Rate, 82 percent, in the most recent statistics announced Thursday. It was the third straight year that Maryland's GSR has risen. This year's numbers measure freshmen who entered the school from 2002-03 through 2005-06. The men's basketball team went from 46 percent in 2011 to 50 percent this year, while women's basketball improved from 81 percent to 93 percent.

Embattled Coppin State University President Reginald S. Avery will step down in January, nearly a year after faculty gave him a vote of no confidence for lacking vision and before his initiatives to improve the state's lowest graduation rates have shown any progress. Avery, 66, who announced the move Wednesday, said that the vote did not factor into his decision, but that he felt the time was right to "step aside" after five years leading the West Baltimore institution. He acknowledged that a turnaround hadn't occurred, but said he plans to return to the classroom where he would continue seeking to improve student engagement on the campus and in the community.

CHICAGO -- In a last-ditch effort to strengthen the No Child Left Behind law, the Bush administration announced yesterday that it will require schools to make sure that low-income and minority students graduate from high school at the same rate as their white and more affluent counterparts. Schools that fail to meet those goals would face sanctions, according to a wide-ranging plan unveiled by Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings. Currently, the law requires that schools meet a graduation target for the entire senior class.

GREENSBORO, N.C. - A recent study by the National Collegiate Athletic Association concluded that the average college student takes 4.8 years to graduate. The Atlantic Coast Conference is using that information to bolster its latest cause: getting five years of eligibility for all football players. In a move that ACC officials and football coaches hope boosts graduation rates, the league will sponsor a measure that, if approved by the NCAA, will eliminate the four-year window of competition that has been in place for all college athletes since freshman eligibility was granted in 1972.

University of Maryland teams posted their best Graduation Success Rate, 82 percent, in the most recent statistics announced Thursday. It was the third straight year that Maryland's GSR has risen. This year's numbers measure freshmen who entered the school from the 2002-2003 school year through 2005-2006. The men's basketball team went from 46 percent in 2011 to 50 percent this year, while women's basketball improved from 81 percent to 93 percent. The football team's rate improved from 59 percent to 65 percent.

Low graduation rates among African-Americans at Maryland's historically black colleges and universities present a major issue deserving of systematic analysis for solutions. This problem has been well documented by countless media outlets in HBCU communities nationwide, including in a recent Sun editorial. That editorial also challenged Maryland's HBCUs on the efforts of their faculty and administration to create and maintain cultural changes that can reverse the systemic trend of underachievement, which begins well in advance of any student's arrival at any HBCU.