Graduation rates soar faster than learning

The gains don't necessarily reflect high schoolers' readiness for college or jobs

- By Howard Blume

STUDENTS attend the Maywood Academy High School graduation ceremony.

(MYUNG J. CHUN Los Angeles Times)

State officials on Thursday celebrated new heights in just-released high school graduation rates, though similar achievement levels were not seen in other measures of student learning.

California’s graduation rate of 87.5% is the highest since the launch of the state’s current accountability dashboard in 2017. That rate is up 4.5 percentage points since 2017 and 1.1 percentage points from last year.

Groups that were behind generally improved more than those that were already doing well. This narrowed the gap separating those with the highest graduation rates — Asians and whites — from other groups, including Latino students, Black students and those in foster care. The rate for white students declined slightly but was essentially flat.

Although Gov. Gavin Newsom — and other state officials — positioned the results as a strong positive, Newsom’s statement was measured.

“The more we can invest time, energy, and resources into our kids, the better their future can be,” Newsom said. “Whether that future consists of college or jumping right into our state’s workforce, we are going to continue our shared commitment to ensuring students and educators have the resources they need to be successful and pursue their California Dream.”

Nationwide, the pendulum has shifted profoundly from a period when school officials ratcheted up graduation requirements as a way to spur student achievement.

The get-tough approach still has proponents, but critics argued that it increased the number of dropouts while providing too little benefit.

High and improving graduation rates typically do not align with other measures, most notably scores on state and national standardized tests — as is the case with the California data released Thursday.