Ekey: Sharp Drop In Harford County Public School Graduation Rates For Special Ed. And African American Students
August 4, 2008
July 30, 2008
Dear Board Members:
In the July 13, 2008, edition of The Sun Sunday, President Hess is quoted as saying “With CSSRP, our graduation rates have increased, our dropout rates have decreased, our HSA scores have gone up.” I was curious about the validity of that statement, especially regarding the dropout rate and the graduation rate, so I have been spending some time with the data at www.mdreportcard.org. I gave extra attention to the data for special education students and for African American students. Continue reading Ekey: Sharp Drop In Harford County Public School Graduation Rates For Special Ed. And African American Students
Ekey: “Unacceptable Level Of Failure” In Harford County Public Schools Warrants Scrutiny
June 17, 2008
Dear Mr. Smilko:
The Aegis reported recently that you made the statement that “the dropout rate is decreasing”. In fact, the dropout rate for the Harford County Public Schools for 2007 is the second highest dropout rate out of the past five years. The rates in 2003, 2004, and 2005 were all lower than the rate for 2007. The trend for the dropout rate over the past 8 years does not indicate a consistent, year to year decline.
Please consider the graduation rate as a more appropriate measure of school system success. The graduation rate for 2007 is the third highest in the past decade and started showing sustained improvement in 2003. Continue reading Ekey: “Unacceptable Level Of Failure” In Harford County Public Schools Warrants Scrutiny
