New York City high school graduation rates climbed this year, despite continuing gaps by borough and type of program. But children with disabilities and those learning English as a new language still graduate at lower rates than their peers.
Neighborhood disadvantage remains a strong predictor of on-time graduation, and a yawning gap persists between students in affluent, predominantly white neighborhoods and those who call low-income communities home.
Boroughs
New York City’s graduation rates climbed to record highs last year, even as dropout rates declined. More than eight-in-10 students who began high school in 2013 earned either a local or Regents diploma four years later. The increase is the largest jump in on-time graduation rates ever recorded for NYC public schools, and comes amid an overall improvement in student achievement across the state. But there are still big gaps between different groups of kids.
For example, nearly two-thirds of kids with disabilities graduated within four years, but only six in ten kids from the most impoverished neighborhoods did. In addition, kids in temporary housing — who tend to have fewer adult supports in their lives — had a much tougher time earning a diploma.
The borough-level data released by the Department of Education reveals some of these disparities, but there’s more work to be done. A report by the nonprofit group Measure of America explains that it’s important to look beyond the headline numbers. The group’s analysis shows that the graduation gap between students admitted to specialized schools on the basis of their SHSAT score and those whose families choose to enroll them in educational option programs widened by 13.6 percentage points in 2015. The same is true for the difference in graduation rates between students in Manhattan’s highest-income districts and those in the lowest-income ones.
The report also reveals that the state’s relaxation of graduation requirements — including allowing students to appeal their scores and giving kids more time to graduate — likely contributed to last year’s increase in the class of 2021. In a statement, Commissioner of the New York State Department of Education Betty Rosa acknowledged that the June 2020 cancellation of standardized tests known as Regents exams was a factor in the city’s higher graduation rate but said it could not be determined how much of an effect it had. The state will release its final graduation rate figures in October. These statistics are based on students who entered the 9th grade in 2013 and earned a local or Regents diploma by 2017.
Districts
More than four in five New York City high school students graduated within four years of starting school last spring, a slight increase from the previous year. The rates were up slightly statewide, too. But statewide, graduation rates in big cities and for all high schoolers continue to be below that of other states.
New York City’s high school graduation rates are a remarkable story, rising steadily for nearly a decade, but the latest state data suggest that they may be inflated by a factor of 9.4 percent. The new numbers come from a report released Monday by the New York Equity Coalition, a statewide policy and advocacy group. The study analyzed the graduation data of 2021 graduates, the most recent available, to determine whether the rates could have been inflated by a significant number of students who did not have to take the state’s standardized tests known as Regents exams.
The study examined two aspects of the graduation process that have been linked to the city’s dramatic gains: its high school admissions system and its wide-ranging expansion of charter schools. The admissions system requires eighth-graders to rank in order of preference up to 12 high schools where they would like to attend. When a school has more applications than spaces, it holds a lottery-like process to assign students. The system also allows families to apply to a school outside their district, though those applications are not used in the ranking or lotteries.
Graduation rates for the class of 2021 grew in all but one of the city’s large districts, led by Rochester, which saw an improvement of 3.4%. The overall rate in the City’s five largest districts improved to 88%, a rate that surpasses the state average of 90%. The city’s gap in graduation rates between black and Hispanic students narrowed slightly, closing by 3.4 percentage points.
The rates varied by borough, with Staten Island leading the way at about 85%, followed by Brooklyn and Queens at 78% and Manhattan at 80%. The highest rates for students in the city’s five most disadvantaged neighborhoods were in Harlem at 76% and the Bronx at 75%.
Schools
The graduation rate in New York City schools jumped to 81 percent last year, up nearly two points from the previous school year and higher than the state average. The city’s mayor, Bill de Blasio, praised the gains and pointed out that more students are going on to college or other post-secondary programs.
While the city’s overall high school graduation rates have increased dramatically, there are still wide gaps between different groups of students. The most stark are between those who graduate on time and those who don’t. Roughly nine out of ten white and Asian-American city students graduated on time last year, compared with just eight out of ten black and Latino students. The gap widens when you factor in whether or not students are in zoned, educational option, or specialized high school programs.
The gap between those in specialized high schools and students in zoned programs widened slightly to more than 13 points. The gap between specialized and zoned programs for English learners also widened, though the increase was less dramatic.
One of the reasons for the increase in the city’s overall graduation rates was a relaxation of requirements for graduating students. The state education department acknowledged that cancelling Regents exams in the junior and senior years probably boosted graduation rates by a point or more.
In addition, the state has made other regulatory changes to make it easier for students to graduate, including granting more exemptions from the exams. It’s impossible to know how much this is responsible for the higher graduation rates.
While the city’s overall graduation rates have improved, many educators worry that a reliance on tests is creating an unhealthy focus on test scores at the expense of other learning and preparation for life. They argue that this is especially true for disadvantaged students. The New York Equity Coalition, a group of education policy and advocacy organizations, recently published a report on the issue.
The report recommends that the state publish more information on how graduates are faring in college and after they leave high school. It also calls for more data on a range of issues, such as how many students need remediation in college and the percentage who drop out.
Race/Ethnicity
New York City’s graduation rate for students earning a local or Regents diploma is 71%, but it varies by borough and race/ethnicity. Citywide, Asian/Pacific Islander students have the highest rates (85%), followed by White (81%), Black (79%), and Hispanic (65%) students.
But even within those broad categories, the gaps are stark. Black girls and boys graduate at lower rates than White students, and the gap for Latinas is worse than for Hispanics. In addition, students from poor neighborhoods struggle far more to earn college degrees than those from richer areas, despite graduating at similar rates. The fact that state graduation data does not allow analysis by sex further limits the understanding of this issue, which is particularly problematic given that there is a clear link between socioeconomic status and academic performance.
Overall, white students saw their graduation rate dip by two percentage points this year, while Asian, Hispanic and Black students all saw theirs rise. The increase in the rate for English language learners—who often come from impoverished homes—was especially impressive, up 4.8 percentage points over last year.
In terms of the twenty-three city community districts, Bayside and Douglaston & Little Neck had the best graduation rates, with rates above 90%; Hunts Point & Longwood, the lowest. The city’s specialized high schools also have widely varying graduation rates, depending on the admissions process. Some, like Aspirations High School and City-As-School, have very low graduation rates for students with the greatest need—with Aspirations only graduating 30% of its Black students, and City-As-School graduating 61% of its Black students.
Overall, the graduation rates for students with disabilities and those learning English as a second language continued to fall behind their peers’ rates—though both saw modest improvements. But the city has a clear opportunity to close these gaps by supporting struggling students, and making sure that every student has access to an excellent high school education. In order to do so, the next mayor and City Council must make a strong commitment to equity and racial justice in our public schools. The future of our city’s children and families depend on it.
