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Audio Included in Post. Audio ©2010 WTLC/Radio One. UPDATE! Indiana Supt. of Public Instruction Dr. Tony Bennett Comments on Black Graduation Rates on Afternoons with Amos. The percentage of Indiana’s African-American public school students who graduated in four years from high school rose dramatically during the 2008-2009 school year. Statewide, two-thirds of all African-American members of the Class of 2009 graduated on time from Indiana public high schools. Up dramatically from 59.5% in the 2007-2008 school year.

PraiseIndy.com analyzed the African-American graduation rates in the school districts with the largest number of Black high school student, in Indianapolis/Marion County and the suburbs. Of the twelve districts analyzed by PraiseIndy.com, African-American graduation rates rose in ten; declining in just two districts.

The combined Black graduation rate of those twelve districts for the Class of 2009 was 66.5%; with 2,371 graduating in four years out of the 3,566 that began as freshmen four years earlier.

Though two-third of Blacks in the twelve largest Indianapolis area districts graduated on time, that doesn’t mean the Black dropout rate was 34%.  On the contrary, only 15.5% of Blacks in the Class of 20-09 dropped out.

A nearly equal percentage, 15.2%, remained in school extra months to complete their studies. Just 1.4% of Blacks in the Class of 2009 received Special Education Certificates, while 0.7% earned Certificates of Completion and 0.7% earned GED.

Black Avon High School students had the highest graduation rate of area school districts at 90.9%, followed by Pike High School’s Black graduation rate of 85.6%. Hamilton Southeastern was next at a 83.5% Black student graduation rate, followed by Decatur Township with an 83.3% Black student graduation rate, Lawrence Township a 79.7% Black graduation rate, Washington Township a 79.1% Black graduation rate and Brownsburg with a 78.8% Black graduation rate..

Black graduation rates fell sharply in Franklin Township and were off slightly in IPS. Both districts had the lowest Black graduation rates – IPS at 49.3% and Franklin Township at 52.9%.

The percentage of the Blacks in the Class of 2009 who dropped out varied. IPS had the highest Black dropout rate at 27.1%, followed by Franklin Township at 20.6%, Warren Township 12.8% and Perry Township 10.4%.

Graduation rates in Indiana are computed by tracking each individual student in a high school’s freshman class for four years. Students not included in the graduate rate are not all dropouts.  They include students who receive a GED diploma, or a certificate of Completion, or drop out.

Below is a Table comparing the percentage of Black students in statewide and in key Indianapolis school districts who graduated from high school within four years over the last four school years.

CLASS OF 2009 BLACK FOUR YEAR GRADUATION RATES

MAJOR INDIANAPOLIS AREA SCHOOL DISTRICTS

Table Compilation©2010 WTLC/Radio One.

SCHOOL CORPORATION

Class 2009

Class 2008

Class 2007

Class 2006

STATEWIDE

65.9

59.5

56.7

58.5

MSD Decatur Township

83.3

58.7

67.9

57.6

MSD Franklin Township

52.9

69.2

51.4

32.3

MSD Lawrence Township

79.7

72.4

71.7

72.8

MSD Perry Township

71.4

68.9

59.8

47.9

MSD Pike Township

85.6

72.0

69.3

67.6

MSD Warren Township

67.3

60.9

72.1

73.4

MSD Washington Township

79.1

75.8

77.3

75.7

MSD Wayne Township

74.8

65.0

65.8

59.5

Indianapolis Public Schools

49.3

50.1

47.0

53.2

Hamilton Southeastern Schools

83.5

77.8

79.6

N/A

Avon Community Schools

90.9

69.4

84.4

N/A

Brownsburg Community Schools

78.8

74.1

N/A

N/A