Okaloosa, Walton grad rates at all-time high November 19, 2008 - 8:01 PM
Okaloosa and Walton counties are graduating students at higher rates than ever before.
New figures from the state Department of Education show Okaloosa County School System has reached a high point, graduating more than 90 percent of students in four years for the first time. That number jumped from 77.1 percent to its current 90.5 percent in just 10 years. Only eight other schools in the state have reached this milestone.
Walton County is seeing numbers in the 80s for the first time, reaching an 81.5 percent graduation rate for the 2007-2008 academic year. That number is up from 68.9 percent in 1998.
The dropout rate in Walton County is also at an all-time low 1.8 percent, down from 5.3 percent in 1998. Okaloosa saw its dropout rate decrease from 4.4 percent to 1.7 percent during the same time period.
The graduation rate measures the number of students who earn a diploma - either a standard or a special diploma, such as a GED - four years after entering ninth grade.
"Over last few years we have emphasized secondary redesign, meaning high school, so that freshman coming in have a much better transition and an easier transition because the freshman year is the most critical year in high school," Okaloosa Superintendent Alexis Tibbetts said. "We know from lots and lots of research that if a student does not have a good ninth-grade year that increases their propensity to drop out."
Tibbetts also attributed the increased graduation rates to the emphasis on a high school diploma to parents in the system and on closing the achievement gaps of minority, low-income and non-English speaking students.
"In our current society and our global economy, you can't get a high skilled, high wage job in America any more if you don't have the minimum of a high school diploma," Tibbetts said. "Our goal is college readiness for every student."
In the Okaloosa School System, high school graduation is viewed as a starting line, with the finish line being the completion of post-secondary education, Tibbetts said.
The state's graduation rate increased to 75 percent, a three percentage point jump from the previous school year. Meanwhile, the dropout rate declined to less than 3 percent.
Minority students accounted for some of the largest growth.
Florida's method of tabulating its high school graduation rate tracks individual students rather than using statistical formulas. That calculation has resulted in higher graduation rates than those seen in national studies
Okaloosa and Walton counties are graduating students at higher rates than ever before.
New figures from the state Department of Education show Okaloosa County School System has reached a high point, graduating more than 90 percent of students in four years for the first time. That number jumped from 77.1 percent to its current 90.5 percent in just 10 years. Only eight other schools in the state have reached this milestone.
Walton County is seeing numbers in the 80s for the first time, reaching an 81.5 percent graduation rate for the 2007-2008 academic year. That number is up from 68.9 percent in 1998.
The dropout rate in Walton County is also at an all-time low 1.8 percent, down from 5.3 percent in 1998. Okaloosa saw its dropout rate decrease from 4.4 percent to 1.7 percent during the same time period.
The graduation rate measures the number of students who earn a diploma - either a standard or a special diploma, such as a GED - four years after entering ninth grade.
"Over last few years we have emphasized secondary redesign, meaning high school, so that freshman coming in have a much better transition and an easier transition because the freshman year is the most critical year in high school," Okaloosa Superintendent Alexis Tibbetts said. "We know from lots and lots of research that if a student does not have a good ninth-grade year that increases their propensity to drop out."
Tibbetts also attributed the increased graduation rates to the emphasis on a high school diploma to parents in the system and on closing the achievement gaps of minority, low-income and non-English speaking students.
"In our current society and our global economy, you can't get a high skilled, high wage job in America any more if you don't have the minimum of a high school diploma," Tibbetts said. "Our goal is college readiness for every student."
In the Okaloosa School System, high school graduation is viewed as a starting line, with the finish line being the completion of post-secondary education, Tibbetts said.
The state's graduation rate increased to 75 percent, a three percentage point jump from the previous school year. Meanwhile, the dropout rate declined to less than 3 percent.
Minority students accounted for some of the largest growth.
Florida's method of tabulating its high school graduation rate tracks individual students rather than using statistical formulas. That calculation has resulted in higher graduation rates than those seen in national studies
