| For immediate release June 27, 2012 |
Contact:
Larry Slonaker, SCCOE Phone: (408) 453-6662 |
Analysis: English learners’ graduation rate improves
SAN JOSE, CA – Santa Clara County students classified as English learners showed the biggest improvement among subgroups in graduation and dropout rates released Wednesday by the California Department of Education.
The rate among other subgroups and county students as a whole otherwise changed little from a year ago, according to an analysis of 2010-11 graduation data completed by the Santa Clara County Office of Education's Assessment and Accountability Department.
Among English learners, the graduation rate for students in the Class of 2011 was 60.7 percent, which is 3.9 percentage points higher than last year. This mirrored a statewide trend in which the rate among English learners increased by 3.8 percentage points.
County students as a whole continued to outperform slightly their statewide counterparts. The percentage of Santa Clara County students who started high school in 2007 and graduated with their class in 2011 was 79.7 percent, compared to 76.3 percent statewide. But county Hispanic students graduated at a significantly lower rate than they did statewide: 64.8 percent vs. 70.4 percent.
In Santa Clara County, both the graduation and dropout rates as a whole changed little from a year ago, when the graduation rate for the Class of 2010 was 80.5 percent. Similarly small declines were seen in several other subgroups.
The analysis also shows that Hispanic students continue to drop out at a far higher rate than do other subgroups.
Graduation and dropout rates were calculated based on the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System (CALPADS). This is the second time this four-year cohort information was collected, making this the first time that it can be compared year to year. The entire analysis of the graduation and dropout rate data, complete with statewide comparisons, will be available at www.sccoe.org.
Date last updated: June 27, 2012
