Hawaii on pace to meet high school graduation goal

Last week, the nation and Hawaii received some rare and good news in education.

For the first time in history, the high school graduation rate crossed the 80 per- cent threshold. More than 4 in 5 students are receiving their high school diplomas, and over the last decade, 1.7 million more students across America graduated from high school, rather than dropping out.

What’s more, the nation remains on pace for the second year in a row to meet its 90 percent graduation rate goal by 2020, a goal four successive U.S. presidents have set and never met.

Gains in graduation rates were driven nationally by a 15-percentage point increase among Hispanics and a 9-percentage point increase among African-Americans — the very populations that had the most progress to make.

Graduation gaps, however, among students from different races, ethnicities, income levels and abilities threaten America’s creed of equal opportunity for all.

The story in Hawaii is full of both steady progress and lingering challenges.

Under the new national graduation cohort rate, Hawaii slightly outpaces the nation with a graduation rate of 82 percent. The percent of fourth- and eighth-graders testing proficient in reading and math, respectively, grew, as did the rate of those who took at least one Advanced Placement exam during high school.

These are encouraging trends. Graduation rates have been increasing right at a time when finishing high school became more difficult, with more AP courses offered and course credits and exit exams required to graduate. This suggests schools and districts are rising to a standard of excellence.

The graduation rate gaps that plague the nation are being narrowed in Hawaii.

Nationally, the gap between low-income and non-low-income students is 15-percentage points, but in Hawaii that gap is just 4 points. Similarly, the national gap between students with disabilities and the general population is a dismal 20 percentage points, but in Hawaii that gap is just 8 percentage points.

Overall, Hawaii is doing a better job than most states at narrowing persistent achievement gaps amongst white and African-American students and between white and Hispanic students. However, with only 56 percent of "limited English proficient" students and 65 percent of Native American students currently graduating on time, Hawaii will need to do more to ensure these students are getting the supports they need to succeed.

The stakes are high. Dropouts are much more likely to be unemployed, on welfare, in prison, require more health care, and have children who drop out of high school. The vast majority of dropouts, in hindsight, reported that leaving high school was the worst decision of their lives. Most want to graduate and go on to college and better-paying jobs.

If the moral and social reasons for making this an urgent state and national priority are not striking enough, the economic case is. Nationally, if the country were to reach the 90 percent goal, for just one class of graduates, more than 65,000 new jobs would be created and $10.9 billion would be added to America’s gross domestic product.

In Hawaii, those additional graduates would deliver an estimated $1.1 million in increased annual earnings and $13 million in gross state product.

America and Hawaii have awakened to the dropout epidemic. Now America’s commitment to an opportunity society compels us to do more to ensure every child receives a quality education, so they can live more fully in their times and complete in a globally competitive world.

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John Bridgeland, CEO of Civic Enterprises, is co-author of Building a Grad Nation, a report released last week. Jennifer DePaoli, education adviser at Civic Enterprises, co-authored the report.