Hawaiʻi is expected to see the greatest decline in high school graduates in the nation over the next several years, raising concerns from lawmakers and Department of Education officials about the future of small schools in shrinking communities.

Between 2023 and 2041, HawaiÊ»i could see a 33% drop in the number of students graduating from high school, according to the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education. The nation as a whole is projected to see a 10% drop in graduates, according to the commission’s , published at the end of 2024.

In 2041, public schools in the state are expected to award diplomas to just over 7,600 students, down from roughly 11,500 in 2023. Private schools are expected to see a similar drop in their graduating senior classes over the same time frame.

Already, the education department has seen its enrollment drop by nearly 12% over the past decade, with school leaders citing the state’s declining birth rate and the number of families leaving Hawaiʻi in recent years.

Last year, the department discussed the possibility of , with some lawmakers and school leaders arguing that it was financially unsustainable to keep small campuses open. But the department changed course last fall, proposing a  to avoid closures.

Closing schools is a controversial and slow process. The department hasn’t closed a school since 2011, when it received strong pushback from families and community members around its decision to shutter Queen Liliʻuokalani Elementary School in Kaimukī.

Now, some lawmakers want to force the department to take swifter action.  introduced last week by Sen. Troy Hashimoto would establish an independent commission to review school facilities and recommend the consolidation, closure or realignment of schools.

“Decades of enrollment growth led to the construction of new campuses, but the recent and continuing decline in student numbers has left many facilities underutilized,” the bill states, adding that Hawaiʻi is facing more financial constraints amid possible federal cuts.

The bill requires the commission to submit its findings to the Legislature and the governor by fall 2027. If lawmakers and the governor approve the findings, DOE would be required to implement the commission’s recommendations following the 2028 legislative session.

Civil Beat’s education reporting is supported by a grant from Chamberlin Family Philanthropy, and “Data Dive” is supported in part by the Will J. Reid Foundation.

Nearly 92% of Indiana’s high school seniors graduated in 2025, setting the highest graduation rate on record, the Indiana Department of Education announced Monday.

“Today’s record-high graduation rate is a testament to the hard work of Indiana’s students, families, and educators,” Gov. Mike Braun said in a news release.

“While high school graduation marks the end of a student’s K-12 journey, our schools play an essential role in preparing students for all that comes next, whether that’s going to college, starting a career, or joining the military,” he continued. “This strong improvement in our state’s graduation rate shows that when we focus on academic excellence and establish clear, personalized pathways, our students thrive.”

The 91.83% graduation rate bested the 90.23% by 1.6 percentage points.

It represents the third straight year of post-pandemic improvement kicked off in 2023, when 88.98% graduated. Seniors recorded a decade-low graduation rate of 86.65% in 2022.

“As we continue to scale the new Indiana diploma and readiness seals statewide, we will not only strengthen the value of high school and help more students graduate, we will ensure that they are prepared to succeed in whatever path they choose for their future,” state Education Secretary Katie Jenner said.

Numerous student populations improved in the results released Tuesday.

Almost 87% of Black students graduated in 2025, up 3 percentage points from the previous year, along with nearly 90% of Hispanic students, in a boost of 2 percentage points. White students improved to 93%, or by about 1.5 percentage points, and their multiracial classmates logged a graduation rate of 88%, up by 1 percentage point.

Seniors learning English, receiving free and reduced-price meals, and in special education also graduated at higher rates than the year prior — but still lagged their native speaker, paid lunch and general education peers.

The rate of students who graduated without waivers additionally cleared 90%. Students who do not complete or pass some graduation requirements can still qualify for a diploma if they demonstrate knowledge or skill.

The waivers are intended to help students with special circumstances, like those who’ve transferred to a new school or who have attempted to pass competency tests at least three times.

State education and policy leaders have for years sought to lower dependence on waivers, including by setting caps on the percentage of graduation waivers that can be counted toward a school’s state and local graduation rate. They took effect with the 2024 cohort.

Non-public schools outperformed their public counterparts by about 1 percentage point — 93% versus 92% — but the differences between traditional public and public charter schools were not reported. In the 2024 results, about 93% of students at traditional public schools graduated as opposed to just 59% of students at public charter schools.

Indiana’s federal graduation rate increased, almost hitting 90% compared to 2024’s 89%. The rates are calculated differently because of differences between state and federal accountability models, according to IDOE.

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Indiana Capital Chronicle maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Niki Kelly for questions: info@indianacapitalchronicle.com.

North Carolina’s public schools reached their highest graduation rate in history last year, while students also posted a three-year high on most standardized tests, according to test data presented Wednesday to the State Board of Education.

The state’s four-year graduation rate climbed to 87.7% for the 2024-25 school year, marking the third consecutive increase.

“We’re very excited, of course, today to recognize the highest four-year cohort graduation rate for North Carolina at 87.7%,” said Tammy Howard, the Department of Public Instruction’s senior director of accountability and testing, during a press conference on Wednesday. “This is a consistent increase for the past three years, but most notable, the highest ever.”

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The report showed improvements in 12 of 15 reading and math exams, including gains on every end-of-grade math test for grades three through eight. Howard said the results also revealed steady progress across all racial and ethnic groups, the strongest performance in three years.

“These results represent more than just numbers,” said State Superintendent Mo Green. “They represent thousands of students better prepared for their next phase in life.”

One of the standouts was Nash Early College High School, which earned an overall A rating and exceeded academic growth targets for the sixth year in a row. Students there achieved proficiency rates of 83% in biology, 89% in math and 96% in English.

Principal Thomas B. McGeachy attributed the school’s success to its strong culture of teamwork and willingness to take risks.. “I’ve tried to create an environment where I encourage staff and scholars to take risks,” he said during the press conference. “Don’t be afraid of failure, because if you didn’t achieve what you wanted to that means you reflect on the experience and you build upon it.”

Frederick Lindsay, a 13th-grader at the school, said the school’s dual enrollment program with Nash Community College gave him new experiences that reshaped his goals.

“Since we’re linked with Nash Community College, we have a wide variety of opportunities,” Lindsay said. “I got to experience a for the first time for $500 to stay there for five days. That’s an opportunity that you wouldn’t get many places.”

Challenges remain

While math proficiency is nearing pre-pandemic levels, only 52.5% of third through eighth graders were proficient in reading last year, a rate still below the 57.3% recorded six years ago.

“Reading is more difficult and takes more time,” said Stacey Wilson-Norman, chief academic officer. “Our teachers have been trained, but we just need to align some of the other supports to really accelerate that progress.”

Green noted that North Carolina ranks 48th nationally in per-pupil spending, nearly $5,000 less per student than the national average, which could constrain future improvements. That gap, he said, makes it harder to attract the best teachers and to offer a full range of resources.

Officials also pointed to lingering setbacks from the pandemic and natural disasters, including lost instructional days in western school districts impacted by Hurricane Helene.

Despite these challenges, state leaders said the gains mark an important step toward their goal of making North Carolina’s public schools the best in the nation by 2030.

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. NC Newsline maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor for questions: info@ncnewsline.com.

California’s public school students are continuing to rebound from the pandemic, with more showing up for class, more graduating and fewer misbehaving at school, according to new data released today.

The California School Dashboard, a color-coded snapshot of how students and schools are faring, showed improvements in many categories during the 2023-24 school year — a relief for schools trying to help students recover academically and social-emotionally after the 2020 campus closures.

The most notable improvement was in attendance. The percentage of students who were chronically absent, missing more than 10% of school days in a year, dropped to about 20%, a significant decline from when it peaked at 30% three years ago. Prior to the pandemic about 12% of students were chronically absent.

“This is good news,” said Hedy Chang, director of Attendance Works, a nonprofit that advocates for school attendance. “I’m pleasantly surprised. 
 To benefit from all the services that schools are offering, kids have to show up.”

Since the pandemic, schools across the state have been doubling down on efforts to lure students back to school. Many used their federal and state COVID-19 relief money to hire outreach workers, add bus routes, host pizza parties and otherwise make it easier and more enticing to come to school. Some districts had  to solve transportation and other obstacles.

Chronic absenteeism continues to improve after pandemic peak

Those efforts paid off, Chang said. While the pizza parties helped, she pointed to many schools’ focus on improving campus climate overall. That includes counseling, social-emotional learning, stronger relationships between school staff and families, and health and wellness services.

Pandemic relief , so some districts will be scrambling to maintain these programs going forward. But the state’s recent investments in community schools, arts education, transitional kindergarten and other services will help, Chang said.

Recognition for long-term English learners 

Another noteworthy item in the Dashboard is the inclusion of a new student group: long-term English learners, or students who were not fluent in English after seven years. The reasons for these students’ delays vary, but in general they’re not receiving adequate help learning English and as a result, lag far behind their peers academically.

About 10% of students who were ever classified as English learners were considered long-term English learners last year, according to state data. Those students had some of the lowest math and English language arts scores of any of California’s 13 other student groups.

“We’re celebrating this significant milestone, that long-term English learners get the spotlight they deserve and they are no longer invisible,” said Martha Hernandez, director of Californians Together, which advocates for students who are English learners. “But now the work begins to ensure their needs are met.”

Schools and other education agencies need to work together to help families who are recent immigrants by finding translators, provide counseling to students, boost bilingual education and bring in tutors to help with English and academic skills, said Lindsay Tornatore, director of systems improvement and student success at California County Superintendents, which represents county office of education superintendents.

‘Not good enough’

Elsewhere on the dashboard, the graduation rate was 86.4%, up a bit from the previous year and higher than the pre-pandemic rate of 84.2%. But a related item on the dashboard raised alarm bells with researchers. The number of students meeting the requirements for admission to California’s public universities was up only slightly — an increase of just 3,700 students among a graduating class of 438,000.  Close to half of high school graduates are ineligible for the University of California or California State University.

“That’s just not good enough,” said Alix Gallagher, interim managing director at the nonpartisan think tank Policy Analysis for California Education. “It means the recovery has been anemic, and that’s a problem. We need a different approach, starting at the state level.”

Most California high schoolers graduate in four years

But only about half of graduates meet University of California or California State University admission criteria, also known as A-G requirements.

She pointed to some districts’ policies of placing students on math tracks that don’t allow them to meet the college admission requirements by their senior year. While not all students should be expected to enroll in four-year colleges, they should at least have the option available, she said.

The Department of Education hailed a drop in the suspension rate, among all student groups. Student misbehavior had increased after schools re-opened, and schools struggled to maintain a positive atmosphere for staff and other students. The rate dropped from 3.6% to 3.3% last year.

No major changes to format

The dashboard itself has been . The data is too hard for parents to navigate, and the color coding can be misleading, according to a report from the Center for Reinventing Public Education at Arizona State University. 

For example, a school might earn an orange color, the second-from-lowest designation, for showing slight improvements, but its scores might actually be lower than schools that earned a red, the lowest ranking. The state said it would consider making some changes but hadn’t made any major alterations on this year’s version.

The dashboard was released a few weeks earlier than it was last year. By 2026 the dashboard’s release will coincide with the Smarter Balanced test score announcement in mid-October.   

This was originally published on .

The Iowa Department of Education has identified 377 schools that are in need of targeted support and improvement because of performance and achievement gaps among some student groups.

The schools were identified as part of the  for the 2023-2024 school year posted Tuesday. The profile system, first set up in 2018, is the state system for reviewing schools’ performance and federal designations.

According to the department, the system was revamped to include a “streamlined set of core indicators” for assessing schools performance and identifying areas where assistance and improvement is needed — metrics measured by the profiles include proficiency results for English language arts, mathematics and science, as well as issues like chronic absenteeism, graduation rates and student academic growth.

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“The updates to the approved accountability system provide consistently rigorous, reliable and fair school ratings that are easily understood by families, educators, communities and taxpayers,” a department news release stated. “The school performance ratings also inform the department’s investment of over 6,000 hours of school improvement assistance each year to schools in need of comprehensive support and improvement.”

Of the 377 schools identified as needing assistance, 93%, or 351 schools, were put in the category because students with disabilities at the school performed in the lowest 5% of all schools, according to the release. Within that group, 110 schools were also identified as needing assistance to make up for performance gaps with other specified student groups, the largest subset being 78 schools that saw achievement gaps between English language learners and the larger student population.

The department also found that fewer achievement gaps were found in Iowa schools for students from low-income backgrounds, as well as Black, Hispanic and multiracial students.

From the 377 total schools listed as in need of targeted or comprehensive support, a majority — 271 — were schools that also were identified as needing assistance last year. There are 106 schools that were newly identified this year, according to the department.

In addition to the state’s assessment on achievement gaps for specific groups of students, the profiles also show that 35 schools are “in need of comprehensive support and improvement” to meet federal Every Student Succeeds Act requirements. The 35 schools in this category represent the lowest performing 5% of Title 1 public schools, and schools with graduation rates lower than 66%, according to the department.

While 20 schools were added to this category this year, the state education department also noted that 16 schools graduated from that designation.

Iowa Department of Education Director McKenzie Snow said in a Tuesday statement that the performance profiles will help inform the department, educators and communities on areas that need improvement and how to best designate resources.

“Built with the feedback of thousands of Iowans, our new, world-class accountability system celebrates school success and supports continuous improvement, focusing resources on the classroom and what has the greatest impact on student achievement and growth,” Snow said. “The department will continue to partner with schools in need of support to accelerate student learning through high-quality instructional materials and practices, evidence- based professional learning, leadership coaching, and learner engagement.”

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Iowa Capital Dispatch maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Kathie Obradovich for questions: info@iowacapitaldispatch.com. Follow Iowa Capital Dispatch on and .

OKLAHOMA CITY — Some Oklahoma schools might face a “significant” drop to their graduation rate because of a federal order affecting students on an alternate track to finish high school, state officials announced.

The U.S. Department of Education ordered the state to no longer count students completing the alternate CORE curriculum among the number who have graduated. The Oklahoma State Department of Education the calculation change will take effect in 2025.

The state agency’s spokesperson, Dan Isett, said the affected students will be able to graduate next year. He said the agency is working with CareerTech, the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education and the state Legislature to resolve the matter “so there are no graduation issues.”

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The allows students to replace a math and science credit with a career and technology course, often taken at a CareerTech center.

Only 6-7% of high school graduates in the state receive a diploma through the CORE curriculum, and they must have opted into it with parental consent. The CORE curriculum has existed in state law for decades, but legislative changes over the years “widened the gap” between it and the traditional college-preparatory track, state education officials said.

The U.S. Department of Education determined the CORE curriculum doesn’t meet college admission requirements and therefore is a “lesser credential” than the traditional graduation pathway, according to a report the federal agency released in July.

The federal report cited a letter Oklahoma sends to parents about the CORE curriculum that notifies them the alternate pathway “does not meet college entrance requirements, nor requirements for the Oklahoma’s Promise scholarship.”

However, these students still could qualify for college acceptance through alternative admission, the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education said in a statement.

The state regents set admission criteria for all public colleges and universities in Oklahoma.

“Bottom line, students who do not strictly follow the curriculum for college-bound students are not barred from enrollment in an Oklahoma public higher education institution,” the agency said.

CareerTech Director Brent Haken said these students have the same opportunities to pursue college as other high school graduates.

“It’s not an accurate picture of what Oklahoma law allows,” Haken said of the federal order. “The statutes in place currently allow any student that wants to, whether traditional or non-traditional, to enter a college or university if they meet admissions requirements. And those admissions requirements can vary.”

The state Department of Education did not answer a question from Oklahoma Voice about whether it believes the CORE curriculum fulfills college admission criteria.

Haken said he is working weekly with the Education Department and the state regents to ensure policies from all three agencies are aligned and “that we explain that to the federal government.”

He said new high school graduation requirements that take effect for the class of 2030 could help address the discrepancy.

The merged the two graduation pathways into one, adding a required fourth math course and flexibility for extra career-focused classes.

Schools with CORE curriculum students could see a drop in their graduation rates if the federal government doesn’t accept the solution Oklahoma officials propose, the state Department of Education announced.

“For schools with many such students, the decrease will be significant,” the department wrote in its message to district superintendents Tuesday.

The agency suggested Oklahoma districts consider enrolling CORE curriculum students in online math and science classes to meet the traditional graduation requirements.

The state Education Department said it will release further guidance “as soon as practicable.”

Multiple districts told Oklahoma Voice they are now calculating how many CORE curriculum students they enroll to learn the extent of the potential impact.

The effect on Oklahoma’s largest district, Tulsa Public Schools, might be limited because it emphasizes the traditional college-ready track, spokesperson Luke Chitwood said.

Mustang Public Schools will consider the state’s recommendations and “will anxiously await” further guidance, said Kirk Wilson, the district’s communications director.

“We have not determined a course of action as this is so newly announced, but we will investigate the feasibility of those options as we move forward,” Wilson said. “We have a lot of questions about how this will impact our students and hope the forthcoming guidance will address them.”

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Oklahoma Voice maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Janelle Stecklein for questions: info@oklahomavoice.com. Follow Oklahoma Voice on and .

An Alabama lawmaker has filed a bill that would prohibit K-12 schools from not transferring student records based on unpaid balances.

sponsored by Rep. Matt Simpson, R-Daphne, would apply to transfers between private schools. Simpson wrote over text Monday that he is open to suggestions if someone wants to amend the bill.

“It just says these records, you can’t keep the records based on unpaid tuition,” he said in a phone interview. “If you need to get unpaid tuition, you have other ways to get that.”

Simpson said the bill came from a local school facing issues with their graduation rates because a private school will not release records to the public school.

“The theory behind the bill is that the student shouldn’t suffer over financials,” he wrote. “That’s out of their control.”

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Alabama Reflector maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Brian Lyman for questions: info@alabamareflector.com. Follow Alabama Reflector on and .

Many college students don’t have enough time for their studies. This “,” as we call it, is often due to inadequate child care access or the need to work to pay for college and living expenses.

High school graduation rates have been incorrectly calculated for up to a decade due to a legacy code error, the Iowa Department of Education said Friday.

The state’s four- and five-year graduation rates were calculated using a legacy code that did not account for mobile students. Those are students who move school districts on a frequent basis for reasons including being in foster care, experiencing homelessness or moving as part of a military family, who transferred between districts and later dropped out of school.

According to the department’s news release, students in this category had been “inadvertently removed from the student cohort rather than included as non-graduates,” leading to the department reporting higher graduation rates.

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The code causing errors has been used for at least a decade in determining graduation rates, according to the news release. But following the department’s Information and Analysis Services’ identification of the issue, the code has been corrected, and the state has released updated information on graduation rates from previous years that were impacted.

Jay Pennington, the department’s Bureau Chief of Information and Analysis Services, said that in addition to correcting the error, the education department also conducted a review of the underlying code, and plans to review graduation rate data on a student level and hold data comparisons to “ensure data quality in future years.”

“Calculating graduation rates is a complex process that requires examining four years of student-level data and includes taking into account multiple change events, such as when students move between districts or initially drop out but choose to re-enroll at a later date,” Pennington said in the release. “Upon a fresh review of the legacy code that had been used to calculate prior graduation rates, we identified that the code had not properly sequenced certain events. Specifically, students who transferred between districts and later dropped out were removed when they should have been kept in the cohort.”

The announcement was made as the department released the state’s four-year high school graduation rate for the class of 2023 Friday at 87.5%. That number is down 2.5% from initial reported graduation rate for class of 2022 of 89.9% by , but higher than the corrected rate of 87.4%. The graduation rate for 2021 was also corrected from 90.2% to 87.8%.

The five-year graduation rate — data that reflects students who were not able to graduate with their class, but were able to complete high school with another year — was also impacted by the error. While the five-year graduation rate for the class of 2023 will not be available until 2025, the revised rates for previous years was released. The class of 2021 had a 90.1% graduation rate for five years, and the class of 2022 had a rate of 89.7%.

The state’s dropout rate, showing the proportion of students in grades 9 through 12 who drop out in the year, was not impacted by the code error. In the 2022-2023 school year, 4,718 students — 3.02% — dropped out, according to the education department data. This is a lower rate than the previous school year, at 3.04%.

According to the news release, Iowa’s graduation rate in 2023 is “consistent with the national standard and its neighboring states.” The four-year graduation rate of 87.5% is higher than Minnesota at 83.3%, Nebraska at 87.2% and South Dakota at 84.1%. Three neighboring states, Illinois, Wisconsin and Missouri, had higher rates — Illinois at 87.6%, Missouri at 89.9% and Wisconsin with a graduation rate of 90.5%.

Department of Education Director McKenzie Snow said the education department is “committed to empowering Iowans with accurate, actionable information on education outcomes.”

“Focused on transparency, the Department identified, corrected, and communicated the error in the underlying code, which has existed for at least 10 years, and its impact on previously reported graduation rates,” Snow said in the release. “The Department immediately instituted additional quality assurance measures and, moving forward, is modernizing its data verification procedures.”

The data, as well as breakdowns based on school districts and various student groups, such as English learners and students with disabilities, is available on .

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Iowa Capital Dispatch maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Kathie Obradovich for questions: info@iowacapitaldispatch.com. Follow Iowa Capital Dispatch on and .

You might call it a bachelor party: Rhode Island saw an almost 4% increase in bachelor’s degrees in 2022, according to from a higher education foundation.

“We did not see this much increase in any other state’s bachelor’s degrees,” said Courtney Brown, vice president of impact and planning for the Indianapolis-based Lumina Foundation. “And it looks like it’s been going up over the last few years. Sometimes, especially in smaller states, it could be a fluke. Maybe it’s a one-year blip. But when I look at the data from 2017 to 2022, the data have been growing pretty tremendously.”

The foundation focuses on postsecondary attainments — which includes bachelor’s degrees, associate degrees and other post-high-school certifications or certificates. Since 2009, Lumina has tracked the trend of state-led goals for attainment, with a nationwide goal of 60% attainment by 2025.

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Rhode Island’s overall attainment rate is 56.7% — still a ways from the 70% goal for 2025, during the administration of former Gov. Gina Raimondo. With 2025 a not-so-distant horizon anymore, the state’s new finish line is 70% postsecondary attainment by 2030, according to a presentation by Shannon Gilkey, the state’s commissioner of postsecondary education, at a Feb. 7 hearing before the Senate Committee on Education.

Rhode Island’s degree-toting population has quietly climbed in number since 2017, Brown noted: “People sometimes think, ‘You know, maybe that’s because there are more people with certificates or certifications.’ But that’s not true in Rhode Island. All of the change has been on degrees.”

While associate degrees haven’t changed much — 8.4% attainment in 2017 versus 8.1% in 2022 — bachelor’s degrees have seen a meteoric rise, especially among people aged 25 to 34. This demographic’s baccalaureates rose from 23.7% in 2017 to 32.5% in 2022.

“A 10-percentage point increase over five years is attributable to something that’s happening in the higher ed system,” Brown said. “There are practical policies that had to have been put in place years ago, to help more people get into and complete a bachelor’s degree
None of this was overnight.”

From a national vantage point, it wasn’t immediately clear to Brown what fostered the change. She estimated these structural changes may have taken place about a decade ago. The numbers are also something of a mystery to education commissioner Gilkey, whose featured the Lumina data.

“We still need to have a deeper understanding about what’s really happening underneath the hood, if you will, of this attainment goal and progress towards that attainment goal,” Gilkey testified.

One factor might be the founding of the Promise scholarship in 2017. It helps students attend the Community College of Rhode Island tuition-free, easing access to a four-year degree if a student decides to pursue that path.

“[A transfer] helps with affordability,” Brown said. “I can more affordably complete a two-year [degree] so I only have to think about financing two years of the four year degree.”

The Lumina Foundation’s data paints a generally positive picture of postsecondary education stateside — after all, Rhode Island was only at 42% attainment in 2009 — but it’s not pollyannaish. Brown noted that Rhode Island’s recent successes aren’t excused from the usual disparities involving access and race.

“There’s a slight decline in the Black attainment population, which makes me wonder if a number of people who identify as Black Americans have left Rhode Island,” Brown said.

Black Rhode Islanders went from 34.7% attainment of associate-or-higher degrees in 2021 to 31% attainment in 2022. The Hispanic population’s attainment rose from 22.9% to 25.8% in that same time period.

Several states like Utah, Colorado and Massachusetts have reached the 60% goal. Washington, D.C. — a typical outlier — is highest, with 75.4% of its population holding a postsecondary credential.

But numbers only tell so much of the story: Education after high school, Brown noted, is about more than diplomas.

“It’s not just about increasing the number of people with bachelor’s degrees,” she said. “[People] want bachelor’s degrees that can get
a good job and a good life.”

Nationwide results, including Rhode Island, are available in Lumina’s report.

is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Rhode Island Current maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Janine L. Weisman for questions: info@rhodeislandcurrent.com. Follow Rhode Island Current on and .

Most Texas community college students who transfer to a four-year university don’t graduate, according to a report on college transfers released Wednesday.

The study from found that only 45% of students who go on to a four-year college get a bachelor’s degree in Texas. Black and adult students struggle even more after they transfer out of a community college, with just 33% and 37% completing their bachelor’s degree, respectively.

Community colleges have long pitched themselves as the most affordable place to start studying for a bachelor’s degree. But Wednesday’s report, the first to break down state transfer outcomes by race, socioeconomic status and age, suggests transfer students need more support to complete their degrees.

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“No wonder there is this distrust in higher education when transfer students who enter these kinds of institutions can’t realize their goals,” said Tania LaViolet with the Aspen Institute.

The report also found low-income and adult learners are less likely to transfer to a four-year university from a community college, compared to their classmates.

Texas legislators last year to incentivize transfers. Community colleges now get more money when their students earn at least 15 semester credit hours before enrolling in a four-year university. In the 2024-25 school year, the first year under the new funding model, Texas community colleges earned nearly $327 million for funneling their students into four-year colleges.

That doesn’t guarantee success for a student once they enroll at a four-year university. For one, classes they take at their community college often . And those who do eventually graduate are not graduating fast enough, which delays their entry into the workforce and can mean the amount of money they pay for college continues to accrue, LaViolet said.

To save students from spending time and money on unnecessary credits, Texas encouraged universities to be more transparent about what it takes to get a degree. mandates universities for every major, so students can use them as a guide to select courses at community colleges. It also required universities to report any non-transferrable credits.

But many of the degree plans that universities have shared are not clear enough, said Lauren Schudde, a professor in higher education policy at the University of Texas-Austin.

“I’ve looked at some of the different transfer plans that students have to navigate. It’s hard for me to figure out what courses exactly they’re supposed to take,” Schudde said.

Texas public universities say they have struggled to meet the needs of transfer students partly because of gaps in staffing and funding, according to in a 2023 Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board report.

Participation in dual enrollment — an effort Texas community colleges have invested in — are tied to better transfer outcomes, researchers at the Aspen Institute and the Community College Research Center said.

They also recommended community colleges should advise their students to get an associate’s degree first. Those who transfer out with an associate’s degree have much higher rates of bachelor’s degree completion within six years.

Earning an associate’s degree first guarantees students will have a postsecondary credential, even if they do not finish their bachelor’s degree. But in Texas, Schudde said students risk taking additional community college credits that will not apply to a four-year degree.

The Texas Tribune partners with Open Campus on higher education coverage.

This article originally appeared in at .

The Texas Tribune is a member-supported, nonpartisan newsroom informing and engaging Texans on state politics and policy. Learn more at texastribune.org.

Starting next year, the number of high school graduates will begin to in Mississippi. That’s the looming reality a joint hearing of the House and Senate Colleges and Universities committees zeroed in on Wednesday.

In Mississippi, this trend, called the “enrollment cliff,” will force the largely tuition-dependent colleges and universities to compete for a shrinking pool of students. Regional institutions like Delta State University, Mississippi University for Women and Mississippi Valley State University, all of which are already struggling with enrollment, will be especially hurt.

The state is poised to see the second-worst decline of high school graduation rates in the Southern U.S. by 2027 after Virginia, according to data presented by Noel Wilkin, the University of Mississippi’s provost and executive vice chancellor for academic affairs.

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The committee wanted to know: What is the Institutions of Higher Learning Board of Trustees, the governing body for Mississippi’s eight public universities, doing about this?

“When can we expect a report to detail those recommendations and strategies for the future,” Sen. Scott DeLano, R-Biloxi vice chair of the Senate committee, asked Al Rankins, the IHL commissioner.

“Whenever you’d like to see a report,” Rankins responded. IHL has been talking about the enrollment cliff for years, he added, and has a working group focused on the regional college’s unique needs.

Kell Smith, the director of the Mississippi Community College Board, which operates differently from IHL, attended the hearing but did not present. He said MCCB doesn’t have a strategic plan for the enrollment cliff but some of the individual community colleges might.

“Very simply — how can we fix the problem to prepare for 15 years from now?” Rep. Donnie Scoggin, R-Ellisville the House chair, asked Wilkin.

There are few simple answers. The enrollment cliff is unavoidable, the product of declining birth rates that will be exacerbated by out-migration from Mississippi and deaths due to the COVID-19 pandemic, John Green, a Mississippi State University professor, told the committee.

But the changing economics of higher education is largely the years ago. In Mississippi, the four-year public universities are all more dependent on tuition than they are state appropriations.

Rankins presented a chart showing that in 2000, state appropriations supported nearly 60% of the universities operating budgets, while tuition was 26%. In fiscal year 2023, that ratio had basically flipped, with tuition supporting 64% of operating budgets.

This raises the question: If Mississippi’s colleges and universities are increasingly reliant on student tuition, not taxpayer dollars, are they still a public service?

It’s complicated, said Rep. Lance Varner, a member of the House committee, whose 16-year-old daughter has started getting recruitment letters from out-of-state colleges hoping to attract her away from Mississippi.

“If you own a business, your goal is to try to get people to come to your business,” he said.

At the same time that he thinks higher education is a public good, Varner, R-Florence, said he bets the universities wish they could be even less dependent on state appropriations.

“Every one of those colleges is working hard to make sure they’re self-sufficient,” he said. “They don’t want to depend on the Legislature.”

At the University of Mississippi, tuition and fees now represent 78% of its total operating budget, according to IHL’s presentation, the highest of any public university.

A huge driver of that is the number of out-of-state students, who pay nearly three times more for tuition than Mississippi residents, now make up half the university’s total population of more than $21,000, Wilkin told the committee. This is one way Ole Miss is responding to the enrollment cliff, which it started preparing for in 2017.

“We have become a destination state for higher education,” Wilkin said.

University of Mississippi netted $62 million in tuition from in-state students in fiscal year 2023 — but brought in $188 million from non-resident students. It’s a crucial revenue source that, Wilkin said, allows Ole Miss to keep its costs down for in-state students.

“If I were to take all the revenue that comes from in-state students and all the state appropriations we get and compare that to what it costs us to educate those students, we’re still left with a multimillion-dollar hole,” Wilkin said.

Wilkin also discussed the “intangible” aspect of higher education that shapes if, why and where students attend college, especially in light of the fact high school graduates are becoming more diverse.

“All of us see there have been questions raised about the value of a higher education degree today,” he said.

By 2036, white students are projected to comprise 43% of high school graduates compared to 51% today. Black students will increase from 25% to 28%.

Smith, the MCCB director, said after the meeting that community colleges need to be focusing more on students who don’t have a high school diploma.

“We need to go after those students irregardless of what the enrollment cliff looks like,” he said.

This first appeared on and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

In the first glimpse of California’s K-12 schools’ year-over-year progress since the pandemic,  graduation rates hit some of their highest levels ever, absenteeism dropped significantly, and hundreds of districts showed academic improvements.

But despite a few bright spots, most of the 13 measurements that California uses to gauge student achievement remained flat in the , which the California Department of Education released on Dec. 15.

Returning to the color-coded system the state used prior to the pandemic, the new dashboard graded many categories as “yellow,” or mid-way between high and low. In assigning one of five colors, the state combines data about schools’ current performance and progress from previous years, which it says creates a more nuanced picture of achievement. Districts that score red — the lowest grade — for more than one category qualify for extra assistance to make improvements. 

During the pandemic, the state didn’t update the dashboard for two years, and then last year didn’t use the color-coding system because there was no previous data to compare it to. This is the first year since 2019 that the dashboard contains full information about test scores and other metrics.

First released in 2018, the dashboard is meant to give the public a fuller view of school performance, beyond just test scores. The dashboard looks at detailed data such as suspension rates, progress of English learners and career readiness, broken down by race and ethnicity and whether students are low-income, in foster care, are homeless or have disabilities.

“In no way, shape or form is yellow a good thing,” said Kimberly Mundhenk, education research and evaluation administrator for the Department of Education. “But it could mean that there’s improvements. 
 Not all yellows are created equal.”

The number of students who graduated within five years climbed to 88.7%, the highest rate since the state started tracking that data in 2018. More than half of those students qualified for California’s public universities, also the highest rate in years. 

Chronic absenteeism, which hit record levels during the pandemic, dropped to 24.3%, down more than 5 percentage points from last year but still more than double the pre-pandemic level.

“I’m glad to see that we’re starting to turn things around, and that districts that had intentional strategies saw big improvements,” said Hedy Chang, executive director of Attendance Works, which researches the topic. “But we still have a significant challenge before us.”

Los Angeles Unified and Monterey County both doubled down on attendance efforts last year, she said, by examining data, working directly with families to address the barriers to attendance, investing in after-school and summer programs and taking other steps to get students back in the classroom after the height of the pandemic. A comprehensive, data-focused strategy clearly works, Chang said, and the state should encourage all districts to adopt such an approach. 

Heather Hough, executive director of Policy Analysis for California Education, said that the state needs to take dramatic steps to jolt schools toward better results. She and her PACE colleagues showing that collaboration among teachers, data analysis and extra help for struggling students can have “measurable impacts on student achievement.”

“There isn’t a simple solution, because the problem is that our schools (currently) aren’t organized in a way that supports and empowers educators to make sure every student learns,” she said. “The dashboard release will bring new attention to the issue, and will raise again questions about what, exactly, we need to do.”

The number of school districts that qualified for what the state calls “differentiated assistance” — extra help based on poor achievement in at least two categories — fell dramatically, from 617 last year to 466 in 2023, primarily because of improvements in attendance, according to the state.

were released in October and incorporated into the new dashboard. Mostly unchanged from last year, the dashboard shows English language arts and math both in “orange,” or below average. In English language arts, students scored an average of 13.6 points below the state benchmark on a 200-point scale, and 49.1 points below the standard in math.

Education officials said they were gratified about the dashboard data. State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond said the improvements show that California’s recent investments in K-12 education are beginning to pay off. Since the onset of the pandemic, the state and federal governments have spent billions on tutoring, after-school programs and mental health programs to help students recover from school closures.

“This is encouraging news — and our work is not complete,” Thurmond said. “We need to continue providing students with the tools they need to excel, especially now that we are successfully reengaging our students and families, so we can close gaps in achievement in the same way that we have begun to close the equity gaps in attendance and absenteeism.” 

Los Angeles Unified was especially proud of its adjusted 4-year graduation rate, which jumped almost five percentage points to 84%. In addition, a record number of graduates — 53% — met the admission requirements for University of California and California State University. 

“The work we are doing to transform Los Angeles Unified into the premier urban district in the nation is being demonstrated in the remarkable stories of our students overcoming adversity, dedicating themselves to their school work and graduating ready to change the world,” Superintendent Alberto Carvalho said. “Our students and families have confronted remarkable challenges since the pandemic, but this is the latest signpost validating the progress we are making as a district.”

San Francisco Unified touted the drop in its chronic absenteeism rate, from 29% to 26%, among almost all student groups. The district had been prioritizing attendance with incentives like schoolwide dance breaks, parent notifications and services to help families get their children to school regularly.

“Attendance is directly tied to student outcomes. If a child doesn’t come to school, they’re not learning,” Superintendent Matt Wayne said. “We are pleased to have made progress last year in reducing chronic absenteeism, and we know that more work is needed to continue supporting students in coming to school every day.”

Among English learners, the dashboard assigned “yellow” statewide, based on 48.7% of students advancing in their language skills. But Martha Hernandez, executive director of Californians Together, an English learner advocacy group, said the state should have higher standards for its students.

“We’re happy the state has returned to the color-coded indicators, but we’re very concerned that 48.7% is considered yellow,” Hernandez said. “We’d like to see more aspirational goals, like 80%. 
 We know that there’s a persistent achievement gap for English learners, but California is giving itself a yellow as if there’s no sense of urgency.”

Students who don’t become proficient in English are more likely to struggle academically and miss out on opportunities to succeed in college and career, she said. 

“This is important,” she said. “I think we need to have higher expectations.”

Georgia high schools continued to make marginal gains in the percentage of students who graduate on time, with a rate of 84.4% for the class of 2023.

That “four-year adjusted cohort rate,” as the federal government calls it, was up 0.3 percentage points from the prior year, the  on Tuesday.

With one exception, the state has made steady — and generally incremental — annual improvements since the new measure was implemented over a decade ago.

The  pandemic, when the class of 2021 had an 83.7% rate, a tenth of a percentage point down from the prior year.

The measure works like this: The number of students who earn a regular high school diploma is divided by the number of students in the “adjusted cohort” for the graduating class. That cohort comprises all the students who entered a Georgia high school as freshmen four years prior, minus those who transferred outplus those who transferred in.

The U.S. Department of Education implemented the new measure to standardize reporting across the states. In 2011, Georgia’s rate plummeted under the new measure, . That was far lower than the nearly 81% rate state officials had touted before, and it ranked Georgia among the lowest performers nationally, below Alabama and Mississippi.

Georgia’s largest gain came in 2015, when 79% graduated in four years, up more than 6 percentage points from the prior class. Since then, the increases have generally been fractional, the gains exceeding 1 percentage point in only 2017 and 2020.

The current year’s rate is the highest Georgia has achieved under the measure. That prompted elected state schools Superintendent Richard Woods to say in a written statement that he was “incredibly proud” of the students, their families and their schools. He noted that Georgia had recently  (but he didn’t note that the average total score fell 7 percentage points).

Woods said he was confident in continued “positive results as we invest in academic recovery and building a student-centered educational system.”

This story comes from our partners at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. For more on the news and events  in metro-Atlanta and Georgia, visit .

Indiana’s influential Chamber of Commerce on Monday released its third long-term economic for the state — two years ahead of schedule, and as both Indiana and the chamber itself prepare for major leadership changes.

The ambitious vision seeks to advance workforce, education, business climate, infrastructure, quality of place and health initiatives.

“Indiana Prosperity 2035 is more than just an update to a prior plan. It’s a new vision with a goal of accelerating the move of Indiana’s economy to an even greater high,” chamber board chair Paul Perkins said at a virtual news conference Tuesday. He’s also president of Amatrol Inc., a technical education provider.

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The organization’s previous plan was set to extend through 2025. But longtime chamber President and CEO Kevin Brinegar said board and staff members decided to “pivot” in 2020, during the pandemic-induced “tremendous upheaval in our economy.”

The 20-page document will guide the chamber’s advocacy work with policymakers and others, Brinegar said. That includes the state’s next governor.

Brinegar said his team would ask each declared gubernatorial candidate “for the opportunity to go through it with them, to encourage them to embrace it and adopt as much of it as they see fit.” The general election is November 2024.

The 12-year plan also comes with Brinegar himself on the way out. He’s set to retire in January 2024 after 31 years with the chamber.

Goals run the gamut

Forty policy experts, business leaders and others spent 18 months putting the latest plan together, which focuses on similar pillars as in the past: workforce, education, business climate, infrastructure, quality of place and health.

But Brinegar said the goals within each area had changed.

In workforce, for example: over the last decade, the percentage of Hoosiers with a postsecondary credential rose from 32% to 54%, according to the chamber. Now, the organization wants to aim for 70%.

“I am optimistic that (even) if we don’t quite get there, we’re going to be close and we’re going to be better served for having had this goal to work towards since 2012, and continuing on into the future,” Brinegar said.

The chamber also hopes to see double the number of Hoosiers with STEM-related postsecondary credentials by 2035, and more with bachelor’s degrees. It additionally wants the state to keep more college graduates, especially international students with STEM degrees, and to get workforce participation from 63% to 70%.

Higher participation would fill the 100,000 jobs open statewide, Brinegar said.

“To do this we have to lift up the skills of the folks at the lower end of the education attainment level,” he said. “It’s unacceptable to have 60% of our high school dropouts not in the workforce. We’ve got to get them off the sidelines and onto the playing field.”

In education, the chamber said it wanted more Hoosier students proficient in math and English, higher graduation rates — not counting waivers — and publicly funded pre-kindergarten programs accessible statewide. Brinegar also highlighted a desire to consolidate small school districts.

Lawmakers have already fulfilled one goal, with recent legislation enabling automatic enrollment of qualifying students into the 21st Century Scholars program.

When it comes to business, the chamber offered congratulations on the state’s “competitive business and regulatory environment” but said the state should focus on some investment, entrepreneurship, productivity, patent and intellectual property metrics.

“It is so important for us to be successful in this area (entrepreneurship), because we have to grow our own,” said volunteer task force chair Larry Gigerich, who also leads economic development group Ginovus. “Indiana is not likely to be a state where we’re going to get a lot of headquarters to relocate here. It’s just not something that is is necessarily a perfect fit for us.”

In infrastructure, the chamber announced goals of high speed communication connectivity for all and carbon neutral targets. Lawmakers have already taken action on two other goals: a state energy strategy and a road improvement program.

But water and wastewater needs still need to be addressed.

“We’ve seen the struggles that have happened in the Boone County area with the LEAP district, which was laid out — but perhaps not enough thought (was) given to where the water for these massive manufacturing and laboratory facilities was going to come from,” Brinegar remarked.

The chamber highlighted quality of place initiatives to help retain and attract more residents, as well as water, air quality and affordable housing goals. Though the state has gained population overall, Indiana’s smallest communities are losing people.

And finally, on health, the chamber hoped to lower smoking and addiction levels, “contain” health care costs and boost civic engagement.

“The cost in loves, lost futures and lost productivity is simply staggering,” the report notes. “
 Indiana’s unhealthy population is a drag on economic growth and a tremendous cost to taxpayers.

Tracking metrics

Brinegar said the chamber would release its first baseline report card this fall, and would likely continue releasing them on a biennial basis.

Indiana’s business community, philanthropic community and governmental entities are most effective when they are aligned, Gigerich said. And he advocated for all to resource the plan and “seize this opportunity.”

“We cannot afford to be complacent,” he said.

is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Indiana Capital Chronicle maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Niki Kelly for questions: info@indianacapitalchronicle.com. Follow Indiana Capital Chronicle on and .

As part of their work, researchers determined school’s effectiveness based upon its impact on students’ social-emotional development, test scores and behaviors. They concluded that the most effective schools provide a welcoming environment for students, an experience that shapes their later years. 

“High schools matter,” said Shanette Porter, senior research associate at UChicago Consortium on School Research and the study’s lead author. “And they matter quite a lot. How safe students feel — physically, socially, psychologically — how deeply connected they are to others, how much they trust their teachers and their peers matters.”

She said, too, that student voice is a powerful tool, one schools can use to design better, more effective systems: The biggest predictor of student outcomes in their study was what the students themselves said about their school experience. 

And the impact isn’t just social-emotional, Porter said. It influences trackable metrics such as test scores, high school graduation rates and college attendance, researchers found. 

“These things that feel soft are inextricably linked to these hard measures of learning,” Porter said.  

Researchers drew their data from six cohorts of 160,148 of eighth and ninth grade students who attended CPS between 2011–12 and 2016–17: 42% were Black, 44% were Hispanic and 86% received free or reduced-price lunch, a key indicator of poverty. The college attendance-related data came only from those who attended ninth grade for the first time between 2012 and 2014. They totaled 55,564 students. 

The study examined students’ administrative records — including those related to attendance and discipline — plus surveys provided by both children and teachers about their school’s climate, whether it had effective leaders, collaborative teachers, involved families, a supportive environment and ambitious instruction.

Students also completed a questionnaire focusing on their emotional health, connectedness to school, academic engagement, grit and study habits. 

The study found that students who attended a highly effective school — one ranked by the researchers as being in the 85th percentile based on their collected data and student and teacher survey responses — saw their test scores improve more than those at other CPS campuses. They noted, too, that attendance increased for this group while suspensions and disciplinary infractions dropped.

And the beneficial effects continued well beyond freshman year: Students who attended a school at that 85th percentile increased the likelihood of graduation by 2.41 percentage points and the chance of attending college within two years of graduation by 2.57 percentage points. They also were 20% less likely to be arrested on campus as compared to the average rate of arrest for all high schoolers in the district. 

A spokeswoman for the Chicago school system said it remains committed to social- emotional development: CPS has spent millions growing such offerings in recent years, based in part on a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention . The study found that in 2021, 10% of high school students attempted suicide one or more times in the prior year. 

CPS has hired 123 additional school counselors since 2021, placing the staff at its highest-need campuses. It also has expanded training and support for school-based counselors, social workers, and psychologists so they can implement small-group and individual social-emotional interventions, the spokeswoman said.

But the social-emotional learning tactics underpinning the positive results seen in Chicago Public Schools — and employed by many other districts around the country for several years — are now under attack from the far right. 

Members of the conservative parent group Moms for Liberty have labeled social-emotional learning, which can include lessons on self-regulation and relating to others, indoctrination, saying it leads to the idea that the country is  

They say it infringes on parents’ right to raise their children. Karen VanAusdal, vice president for practice at the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning, known as CASEL, acknowledged the pushback. 

“Certainly there are groups like that that are trying to make social-emotional learning a political soundbite,” she said. “But 
 there are many more parents, educators and policy leaders who understand the importance of social-emotional learning. The work is continuing.”

VanAusdal said helping students develop skills outside academics is invaluable, especially now, in the wake of the pandemic, when so many are reporting mental health struggles. showed some consensus among parents: 66% said it’s “extremely or very important” that their children’s school teaches them to develop social and emotional skills. Twenty-seven percent said it was somewhat important, Pew reported.  

“This has always been a bipartisan issue,” VanAusdal said. “We want children to have healthy relationships. We want them to have the skills they need to achieve their career and life goals and be caring members of our communities — and we know social-emotional learning is the pathway to achieving that.”

When Shields’ mother, Nastassja Miller, was pregnant, doctors said her daughter was sickly, and could be born with Down syndrome or be developmentally delayed. While the doctors were wrong about that, at 6 months old, Shields needed her left kidney removed. And then, when Shields was 2 years old, her father was incarcerated, leaving Miller to raise Shields on her own for over a decade.

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Despite all those challenges, Shields, now a senior at Crosstown High School in Memphis, is in the top 20 in her graduating class – with four years of straight As – and on her way to college.

Shields’ achievements are part of a greater trend in Memphis: Over the last four years, Black girls have graduated from high school at a higher rate in Memphis-Shelby County Schools than any other demographic group on record, a reversal of traditional academic disparities where Black students lag behind their white peers.

Supportive classrooms and attentive teachers of color who can relate to their students are certainly a large part of the equation to Black girls’ academic success. But Memphis-Shelby County Schools graduates and soon-to-be graduates agree that behind the trend is a personal determination to excel in spite of the double burden of racism and sexism that Black girls often face.

Limited studies of Black girls are more likely to ‘problematize’ than promote

It’s hard to say for certain what’s behind Black girls’ high graduation rates in Memphis, experts say, as their academic outcomes are chronically understudied in comparison to other demographics.

A U.S. Department of Education spokesperson said the department does not collect high school graduation rate data disaggregated by race and sex, though a National Center for Education Statistics provides graduation data for the U.S. and Tennessee by race/ethnicity. Generally, though, girls graduate from high school at than boys.

National studies and statistics more often “problematize” rather than promote Black girls in K-12 schools, focusing on topics like the school-to-prison pipeline, hair or aesthetic bias, or disproportionate rates of suspension, drop-out, or teen pregnancy, said Danielle Apugo, an assistant professor of education at Virginia Commonwealth University and co-editor of the book “Strong Black Girls: Reclaiming Schools in Their Own Image.”

“Black girls and Black girlhood are lumped into categories with Black males and Black women, which flattens the dynamism of our experiences in K-12,” said Apugo, whose studies focus on the educational experiences, culture, resistance, and intellectual uprising of Black women and girls in the United States.

Attention is often directed at broader groups, such as all students of color, or specifically to Black boys, who are the subject of many efforts in and across the country to improve test scores and high school graduation rates.

And while the gaps between Black and white students’ test scores and graduation rates are broadly recognized, that narrative is flipped among economically disadvantaged girls, with low-income Black girls graduating from high school 5 to 6 percentage points ahead of their white peers. That trend is fueled by “Black females’ resilience to disadvantages,” a 2021 by researchers at the U.S. Department of Justice and Syracuse University found.

Greater rates of tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drug use during early adolescence among low-income white girls compared to economically disadvantaged Black girls contribute to that gap, researchers say. That, in turn, can lead to more risky behavior and school-related delinquencies such as truancy and suspensions for economically disadvantaged white girls.

Black girls’ socialization plays into high graduation rates

In Shelby County, it’s clear that something noteworthy is occurring, and it suggests that Tennessee’s largest school district — which serves nearly 110,000 students, most of whom are Black and economically disadvantaged — is taking steps to better serve a population that has long been underserved, said Valerie Adams-Bass, an assistant professor of education at the University of Virginia whose research focuses on Black children’s social and academic outcomes.

Perhaps the largest factor at play, though, is not the schools. Instead, Adams-Bass said, it could be the way parents socialize Black girls during their upbringing, encouraging them to do well and excel in school so they can pursue career paths that are financially stable or lucrative. Meanwhile, parents aren’t always able to have those same conversations with Black boys because of the heightened risk of criminalization that they face.

“When we talk with girls, the conversations tend to lean into ‘get your education, get a good career, make sure that you are independent,’” Adams-Bass said. “With the boys, it’s not that they don’t have those conversations, they’re just not able to emphasize it as much because of how there’s so much violence toward and against Black boys, so parents are naturally talking to them about their sense of self and identity and being careful.”

For Shields, the strong female role models in her life have helped her get to where she is today — recently accepted into 30 colleges, including the University of Mississippi’s pharmacy program, a great feat for an incoming college freshman, and the recipient of five full-ride scholarship offers.

“I know it means so much to my mom. She’s always really proud of my grades,” Shields said. “Actually, after I get good grades and now that I’m getting into college, just to see her reaction 
 it’s like she’s more happy and excited than even I am.”

She isn’t quite sure where she’ll attend college or what she’ll study — maybe something in the medical field, like pharmacy. But above all else, Shields knows she wants to be a leader, following the example of other powerful Black women in her life.

Like her grandmother, who is director of the drug rehabilitation program at the Salvation Army in Memphis. And her mother, who was a single parent for most of Shields’ life, until her father was released from prison when Shields was in eighth grade.

Miller also juggled a full-time day job with studying at night. When Shields was 10, Miller graduated with a master’s degree, and now is an officer in the Shelby County Health Department’s COVID unit.

“I’ve always told her to never give up, that it’s never too late to go to school or get help, and you have to have goals in life to be successful,” Miller said. “I think she’s a reflection of that, and us, wanting to succeed and having goals and reaching them.”

Black girls often learn to navigate racialized spaces — school included — by observing how Black women in their own lives navigate them, from informal spaces such as a grocery store to formal environments such as work or school, Adams-Bass said. Having Black women teachers who “mirror” Black girls and show them what’s possible, may move the academic needle for Black girls.

In Memphis-Shelby County Schools, the vast majority — 80% — of teachers are women, district officials in 2020, and over half are Black, according to state from the 2019-20 school year.

A December 2021 from Brown University’s Annenberg Institute for School Reform suggests teachers of color may be better at educating all students because of their emphasis on social-emotional learning.

“Whether Black, Hispanic, Asian or White, students report feeling better cared for and more academically challenged when they have a teacher of color,” writes David Blazar, the author of the study and an assistant professor of education policy and economics at the University of Maryland at College Park. “In other words, the practices and behaviors that teachers of color may deliver with students of color in mind may just be ‘good teaching’ all around.”

Black girls may also look to the increasingly positive representations of Black women in media, Adams-Bass said — from Raven-SymonĂ© in the popular Disney show “That’s So Raven,” to former First Lady Michelle Obama.

They harness power from “part of Black Girl Magic, that contributes to their resilience and tenacity to persist in school and in life,” Adams-Bass said.

Memphis-Shelby County Schools officials said they’re excited about the trend, saying it may be a sign that administrators’ and teachers’ concerted efforts to boost graduation rates and overall academic performance are paying off.

In 2021, 83% of Black girls graduated from high school on time, recent Memphis school district data shows. The rate held about steady with the previous three years, when the rate hovered around 85%.

That’s higher than the graduation rate for every other demographic group separated by race and gender. For comparison, 74% of Black boys in Memphis-Shelby County Schools graduated from high school on time, and had the lowest graduation rate at 64%. White girls have the closest graduation rate to Black girls at 80%, while the rate for white boys stands at 67%. The district doesn’t appear to track graduation rates among nonbinary students.

Administrators couldn’t say whether having more Black women teachers made a difference for Black girls. Data breaking down the demographics of the district’s teachers wasn’t available by publication.

District officials touted several specific initiatives across the district, including its new social-emotional learning curriculum, increased academic counseling in ninth grade and beyond to ensure students stay on track, and pushing students of color to participate in Advanced Placement and dual enrollment classes, among others. But administrators couldn’t say what has caused Black girls in particular to graduate at the highest rates in Memphis-Shelby County Schools, compared to all other demographic groups.

Black girls’ own drive and resilience push them to success

Shields credits all her schools and teachers for the academic excellence she has demonstrated from kindergarten through 12th grade. Her elementary school, Idlewild Elementary, gave Shields a solid foundation, and at Crosstown she participated in numerous AP classes and dual credit classes through her school’s partnership with Christian Brothers University.

But Shields’ success is about more than that. Behind the classes and the grades, Shields had her own personal drive and resilience — in large part, she said, inspired by her mother and grandmother’s examples and encouragement.

Even if Shields had to be out of school for doctor’s appointments or health issues, her mom — a strong woman who inspires Shields daily — would remind her that school should be her top priority.

So, that’s what Shields has always done: If she had to miss class for an appointment, which has happened frequently throughout her school career, she asked her teachers for schoolwork ahead of time and completed it. If she was struggling with a concept, she got tutoring and asked for help.

“She (my mom) was always making sure I knew that tutoring doesn’t mean you’re not smart or something like that. Tutoring could just mean that you need help, and you don’t have to be scared to take tutoring classes,” Shields said. “I’ve learned to keep an open mind if you need help; don’t be scared to ask for help.”

School didn’t always come easily for Destinee Woods, either. Woods, a 2021 graduate of Memphis-Shelby County Schools’ Bolton High School, has always struggled with math and science.

“With math, if there’s a formula or graph it was something I wasn’t good at it,” Woods said with a laugh. “And science has never been my thing.”

But she never let it stop her. Motivated by her grandparents, who never had the opportunity to go to college, and her parents, who were first-generation college students themselves, Woods worked hard to keep her grades up and take challenging AP and dual enrollment classes so that she could not only attend college but earn scholarships to help pay for it.

Woods’ hard work and determination paid off. Not only did she graduate from Bolton with a strong grade point average of 3.7, but Woods also managed to start her own hair while still in high school, and was involved in numerous extracurricular activities like National Honor Society and Beta Club, a national nonprofit educational youth organization dedicated to helping children become leaders.

As a result, Woods was accepted into 22 colleges and universities, but landed on Miles College, a private historically Black liberal arts college in Fairfield, Alabama, where she earned a full-ride scholarship.

Woods is quick to admit that college isn’t easy. But nevertheless, she continues working toward her dream of someday owning her own salon.

“I still struggle with science,” Woods said. “So I just take more time to study and ask for help when I need it. It’s that simple.”

Like Woods, Shields has had to overcome numerous hurdles over the years. Still, Miller knew the day would come when Shields would don a cap and down and cross the stage to receive her diploma. And while Shields’ graduation is still months away, her mother is sure the day will be emotional.

Miller is more proud of her daughter than she could’ve imagined.

“I was prepared for whatever the wind blew in,” Miller said, reflecting on the doctor’s warning during her pregnancy that Shields might be developmentally delayed or have Down syndrome. She weathered all the worries about her daughter’s health, the medical appointments that took Shields out of school and, on top of it all, the stress of being a single mother until she remarried in 2019.

Now, Miller sees it’s all been worth it.

“It’s been like a marathon,” she said, her voice thick with tears. “But I’m so proud of my baby.”

Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news site covering educational change in public schools.

States didn’t have student performance data to report from the 2019-20 school year because tests were cancelled. But many also left the public in the dark about how many days of school pupils missed or which students were less likely to graduate, according to on state report cards.

Nineteen states either failed to break down graduation rates by race and ethnicity or didn’t report rates for groups such as special needs, low-income or homeless students, the Data Quality Campaign’s review shows.

“When we talk about the drop in students enrolling in community college, or any postsecondary option, all of those data points start with high school graduation,” said Paige Kowalski, executive vice president of the nonprofit organization. It’s important, she added, to have evidence of the pandemic’s higher toll on low-income and minority students. “We just had so little data about what was happening in schools.”

The federally mandated report cards are the primary way states make complicated school-level education data accessible to parents and other members of the public. Each year, the nonprofit releases which states it thinks are doing a good job of making the information easy to find and understand. Leaders say despite the pandemic’s disruption in testing — and waivers from the federal government dropping accountability requirements — states could have used their report cards to give families more insight into why some data is missing or to report on students’ access to at-home internet access. But most didn’t.

“Why do we continue to rely on Congress to tell us what we need to know?” Kowalski asked. “States did not use this as an opportunity to provide more information. They chose not to use it to shine a light.”

According to “Show Me the Data,” just nine states posted the percentage of students missing at least 10 percent of school last year. Another 26 reported chronic absence data from previous years or didn’t specify the year.

Hedy Chang, director of Attendance Works, a research and advocacy organization, said she suspects many state officials felt their 2019-20 data wouldn’t be accurate once students shifted to remote learning or that it wouldn’t be comparable to previous years.

“Districts were really confused about whether to take attendance or not and how,” she said, but added that states could have added an explanation rather than not release it at all.

Almost half of the states didn’t include all of the data required on educators, such as those teaching out of their field or those with emergency credentials. And many states still aren’t reporting results for at least one group of students, which Kowalski said will be important in the future to track which groups of students at each school were most affected by the pandemic and distance learning.

For example, even if they collect it, 13 states still don’t break down data by gender on report cards. Kowalski said teens in general have gone to work or picked up more responsibility at home to help families facing economic hardship. But, she added, it’s not “a stretch” to assume older girls assumed more additional household duties than boys and cared for younger siblings so their mothers could stay in the workforce.

Some states provide links on their report card websites that lead to additional information, but Kowalski said those looking for data shouldn’t have to hunt for it.

“To ask anyone, let alone a parent, to dig through and Google multiple websites and cobble together a full, robust picture of what happened in a school is absurd,” she said.

‘A financial footprint’

A few states tried to put the results in context instead of cutting back. Pennsylvania and Iowa used their annual report cards to be upfront about what was missing — and why — or point readers to waivers from the federal government showing which data wasn’t required.

And North Dakota posted the number and percentages of students in virtual, hybrid or in-person learning, long before the U.S. Department of Education started its own tracker a year after the pandemic began.

Ross Roemmich, the North Dakota education department’s director of management information, said all districts in the state use the same technology platform — Powerschool — making the data collection easier.

“When COVID hit, everything changed,” said Roemmich. “We knew that someday, the federal government would probably ask us which schools were face-to-face, hybrid or remote.”

Kowalski noted that just because states couldn’t hold schools accountable for results didn’t excuse them from reporting other data mandated by law — including per-student spending for each school. Several states made progress on that requirement, which went into effect last year. Thirty-six states reported the spending data for 2019-20, up from 19 the previous year.

Last year’s report cards likely won’t provide a lot of information on how states are directing federal relief funds. But Marguerite Roza, director of the Edunomics Lab at Georgetown University, said going forward, the per-pupil spending data will help the public track whether districts direct funds toward schools serving the neediest students. “There will be a financial footprint to this,” she said.

Kowalski said she’d like to see all states add information on students’ access to devices and Wi-Fi to their report cards.

“We already knew devices were important,” she said, but added that during the pandemic, a computer and a reliable connection “became school.”