Graduation rates continue dip for Carson High, Pioneer Academy
Submitted by Kelsey Penrose on Wed, 11/22/2023 - 10:20am
According to a presentation given at the Carson City School Board meeting last week, the district’s graduation rates continue to slide in the post-pandemic years.
When it comes to the “formula” for graduation rates, it’s not as simple as number of students who walked verses those who did not, but rather there is a specific, nationwide formula which takes into account the number of students in an “adjusted cohort” that earn regular high school diplomas vs the number of students who were first enrolled in high school in 2019-20, adding students who transferred into the cohort, and subtracting students who transferred out. The regular high school diploma is also seen differently from adult diplomas, advanced diplomas, etc.
You can view a much more detailed explanation of the formula here.
Prior to the 2022 school year, adult diplomas were considered the same as regular diplomas, until a federal audit determined they should not count in the same category. Now, students who earn an adult diploma are counted as “transfer students,” even if they receive those diplomas from their high school.
The numbers
In 2022, 83.4 percent of students graduated within the district, compared to 80.56 percent in 2023.
In total, 460 students graduated from the district with 423 at Carson High School and 37 at Pioneer Academy. There were 111 non-graduates from both schools; 48 from Carson High and 15 from Pioneer Academy.
The district granted 56 adult diplomas, 29 of which were awarded through Carson High School and seven were awarded through Pioneer Academy.
Carson High School’s rate fell to 89.91 percent after dropping to 88.7 percent in 2021. The rate rebounded in 2022, climbing to 92.3 percent, before falling again this past spring.
Pioneer Academy’s graduation percentage made a larger drop, due to the fact that they have a much smaller class size. In 2022, their graduation rate was at 80 percent, dropping to 71.15 percent in 2023.
The cause
Tasha Fuson, associate superintendent of educational services, said the issues are still mired in difficulties from the pandemic.
“Last year’s graduating class if you remember was the freshman class during COVID; it was a challenging time,” Fuson said. “We didn’t have summer school that year because of the pandemic.”
Previous years on average had around 100 students making up credits in summer school. Without the summer school element, it left many students in a lurch come the next year.
In the following summer of 2021, there were over 300 students in the high school who attended summer school to take on credit recovery.
“That number has not waned,” Fuson said. “We are struggling with credit attainment.”
Fuson said what is an important aspect is making sure that the Freshman students are starting off on a good foot and are attaining all of their credits during their first year, so they aren’t playing catch up in the subsequent summer or regular school year.
“Credit recovery shouldn’t surprise us since every single grade level needs remediation at this point,” said Trustee Mike Walker. “It’s not just the high school; it’s nationwide at this point.”
