The percentage of high school seniors who are graduating improved last year at three of the six public high schools in Johnson County.
The graduation rate is up at Whiteland, Edinburgh and Indian Creek high schools, but at Center Grove and Greenwood, the percent of students graduating within four years of starting high school, including those with graduation waivers who may have failed end-of-course state assessments, fell from 97 to 95 percent and from 91 to 88 percent, respectively.
The Indiana Department of Education calculates graduation rates annually, giving schools an indication as to how many students graduate on time. The U.S. Department of Education has also calculated graduation rates, and the results across Johnson County are equal to or slightly lower than the rates issued by the state.
Certain differences between what is included in the federal versus the state graduation rate calculation leads to the slight difference.
The state does not count students who have withdrawn from school due to long term medical conditions, who have gone missing, who attended school in Indiana for less than one school year or who have been placed by court order or the Department of Child Services, while the federal graduation rate does.
For the state average and for certain districts such as Clark-Pleasant, Edinburgh and Indian Creek, the state graduate rate is one percent higher than the federal one.
Counting graduation waivers granted to students who may have failed end-of-course assessments, state graduation rates saw the largest increase at Indian Creek High School (90 to 94 percent) and Edinburgh High School (94 to 98 percent).
Roncalli High School, a southside Indianapolis private school, saw the same graduation rate of 98 percent.
Greenwood Community High School dropped from a 91 percent graduation rate to an 88 percent mark, which is below the statewide average.
A lower graduation rate might be due to the fact that the district gave fewer graduation waivers to students than any Johnson County district aside from Edinburgh, Principal Todd Garrison said. Greenwood has a non-waiver state graduation rate of 86 percent.
Schools can grant waivers to high school seniors who don’t pass end-of-course state assessments required to graduate. Schools can issue evidence-based or work-readiness waivers.
For both waivers, students are required to fulfill a number of requirements, such as retaking exams in each subject area they failed to pass the first time, having at least a 95 percent high school attendance rate and completing school-provided help sessions in order to prepare for the retests, according to the Department of Education.
For the evidence-based waivers, students are required to obtain a written recommendation from teachers showing the student has met academic standards. For the workplace waiver, students are required to pass a workforce readiness assessment and obtain at least one industry certification from the state board’s approved list.
Garrison said he will continue to make education more personalized to students’ future goals as a means of keeping them invested in their education.
“I think one of the things we’re trying to latch on to is getting students more involved with career pathways of interest, to get them involved in aspects they enjoy,” Garrison said. “We’ll continue to try and make improvements in connections. In our internship program we went from one to eight to 26 students, getting students connected to careers earlier than later.
“The more you do that, the more you will see (graduation rates) improve.”
Of the four largest school districts in the county, Clark-Pleasant was the only one to see an improvement in its graduation rate, moving up slightly from 91 to 92 percent. Franklin Community High School maintained its 94 percent rate.
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Graduation Rates
The following are the percent of graduates by senior class as figured by the Indiana Department of Education, based on the diplomas taken into consideration by the state, for 2018 and 2017. Percentages include waivers for students who may have failed end-of-course assessments.
School;2018;2017
Center Grove High School;95%;97%;
Whiteland Community High School: 92%;91%;
Edinburgh Community High School: 98%;94%;
Franklin Community High School: 94%;94%;
Greenwood Community High School: 88%;91%;
Indian Creek High School: 94%;90%;
Roncalli High School (Indianapolis): 98%;96%;
Greenwood Christian Academy: 95%;100%;
Statewide: 88%;87%;
The following are the percent of graduates per senior class as figured by the U.S. Department of Education, based on the diplomas taken into consideration by the federal government. Percentages include waivers for students who may have failed end-of-course assessments.
Center Grove High School: 95%
Whiteland Community High School: 91%
Edinburgh Community High School: 97%
Franklin Community High School: 94%
Greenwood Community High School: 88%
Indian Creek High School: 93%
Roncalli High School (Indianapolis): 98%
Greenwood Christian Academy: 95%
Statewide: 87%
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