NCLB Case Study Essay

In the three school districts examined for this case study, graduation rates also rose significantly in the years following the implementation of NLCB. In the 2001-2002 school year, students in the Philadelphia City School district graduated at a rate of 52 percent. The graduating class of 2013 in Philadelphia had a graduation rate of 64 percent by conservative measures, and even a rate as high as 70.1 percent according to other measures. This represents at least a 12 point jump in the years since NCLB was implemented. Similarly, in the York City School district, graduation rates jumped nearly 18 points from 2002 - 2013, which was a remarkable feat. The city of Harrisburg is the only city which saw a decrease in graduation rates in the years after NCLB was implemented. According to a district report, in the 2009-2010 school year Harrisburg School District had a graduation rate of 52.95 percent, although several years later, the state of Pennsylvania reported a graduation rate in the city of only 38.6 percent. This drop of over fourteen points does not match the patterns observed in York, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania or the nation. A further study into the cause of this decline would be beneficial for the school district. Several other studies of high-poverty high-minority school districts have …show more content…
However, the lowered graduation rate in Harrisburg is concerning, and it would be helpful to know if this same trend happened in any other small cities. Furthermore, it is also not clear if the rise in graduation rates represented a rise in achievement, or were a further testament to lowered proficiency standards. It would seem to follow that as graduation rates rise, SAT scores for students should also rise as well. However, it is not clear that this was the