The number of high schools where fewer than 60 percent of students graduate declined nationwide, but in Maryland 10 more of these “dropout factories” popped up.
Between 2002 and 2008, the U.S. saw a 13 percent drop in high schools where at least 40 percent of students fail to graduate, from 2,0007 in 2002 to 1,746 in 2008, according to a study of government data by America’s Promise Alliance, Civic Enterprise, and Johns Hopkins University.
But Maryland saw its “dropout factories” increase in number from 17 to 27 — many of them in Baltimore — the fourth-biggest leap among 50 states. More than half of states had fewer schools with low graduation rates in 2008; Maryland came in just behind Pennsylvania (48 to 59), California (129 to 146), and Nevada (8 to 34). Virginia claimed 25 low-performers, one less than in 2002.
John Bridgeland, CEO of Civic Enterprises and co-author of the report, said that Virginia and Maryland’s traditionally high performance gave them less room for improvement; the most dramatic gains were among Southern states that had a long way to go, Bridgeland said.
“This report disproportionately focuses on those who have made the greatest gains,” he said, noting that Maryland and Virginia have graduation rates above 80 percent, putting the duo above the national average. “But here’s the challenge — we’re 13th in the world in high school graduation rates …To get to a graduation rate above 90 percent means for states like Maryland and Virginia they still have 10 to 15 percentage points to gain over the next decade. We have a significant way to go.”
The report did not include data from D.C. because it is not a state; however, the study noted that the 265 fewer dropout factors observed in 2008 would be 261 with D.C. factored in.
“Dropout factory” was a term popularized by director Davis Guggenheim’s documentary “Waiting for Superman'”, which spotlighted D.C.’s struggling public school system and its reformist chancellor Michelle Rhee.
