‘Clarification of graduation stats’ | Letter
Published 9:14 pm Tuesday, September 13, 2011
At the OSPI (Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction) website, the most recent statistics on test scores and graduation rates have now been released. These have caused some questions about the on-time graduation rate for the Orcas Island School District. On-time graduation rate is the percentage of students who actually graduate in the year that they are expected to graduate, which is their fourth year of high school.
There is also an extended graduation rate for districts and schools for students who graduated within two years of the year in which they were expected to graduate. You can find these rates and other statistics about schools around the state at: http://reportcard.ospi.k12.wa.us/summary.aspx?year=2010-11.
The Orcas Island School District has two high schools, each with a different on-time graduation rate. These statistics are reported by OSPI for the school year 2009- 2010 as:
• 91 percent Orcas Island High School on-time rate
• 14 percent OASIS High School on- time rate
• 67 percent district on-time rate
OASIS High School enrolls a wide range of students. It is an alternative school in the best sense of the word. Some of the students earn a diploma in the year that they are expected to do so. Some earn their diploma a year or two later. Some earn a diploma in the same year they turn 21, which is the last year in which a student can be served by a public high school.
Some OASIS students earn a GED, which we celebrate as an accomplishment but the state counts as a drop out. Some leave to go to work or to attend classes at a two- year college or other program and may never earn a high school diploma.
We are very proud of the students and staff in both OASIS High School and Orcas Island High School. They are very different schools. However, staff at both schools share a common goal, which is to help students meet their personal educational goals. Very wonderful young people who will go on to be very wonderful adults attend both of these schools.
I apologize to anyone who was confused by the graduation rate numbers and hope that this letter is helpful.
Barbara Kline
Superintendent/Principal, Orcas School District
