Cities in Crisis
Cities in Crisis 2009: Closing the Graduation Gap prepared for America’s Promise Alliance by the Editorial Projects in Education Research Center, shows that despite some progress made by several cities from 1995-2005, the average graduation rate of the 50 largest cities is well below the national average of 71%, and there remains an 18 percentage point urban suburban gap. Cities in Crisis 2009 finds that only about half (53%) of all young people in the nation’s 50 largest cities are graduating from high school on time. Cities in Crisis 2009 was released on April 22 as a follow-up to the original Cities in Crisis report released in April 2008.
Cities that saw the greatest improvement in graduation rates include Philadelphia, Pa. (23 percentage points); Tucson, Ariz. (23 percentage points); Kansas City, Mo. (20 percentage points); El Paso, Tex. (14 percent percentage points); Portland, Ore. (13 percentage points); and New York City (13 percentage points). Other cities with an increase of 10 or more percentage points in graduation rates were Atlanta, Ga.; Austin, Tex.; Columbus, Oh.; Dallas, Tex.; Fort Worth, Tex.; Mesa, Ariz.; and Miami, Fla. Still, nineteen of the country’s 50 largest cities have seen the graduation rate at their principal school district decline within the last decade. Those with the greatest decrease in graduation rates include Las Vegas, Nev. (-23 percentage points); Wichita, Kan. (-18 percentage points); Omaha, Neb. (-15 percentage points); Arlington, Tex. (-12 percentage points); Albuquerque, N.M. (-7 percentage points); and San Francisco, CA (-7 percentage points).
Nationwide, nearly one in three U.S. high school students fails to graduate with a diploma. In total, approximately 1.2 million students drop out each year — averaging 7,000 every school day or one every 26 seconds. Among minority students, the problem is even more severe with nearly 50 percent of African American and Hispanic students not completing high school on time.
Cities in Crisis 2009: Closing the Graduation Gap also looked at the economic and employment landscape for those with varied educational levels, including those without a high school diploma. It revealed that those who drop out of high school are less likely to be steadily employed, and earn less income when they are employed, compared with those who graduate from high school. Approximately one-third (37 percent) of high school dropouts nationwide are steadily employed and are more than twice as likely to live in poverty.
The report revealed that high school dropouts account for 13 percent of the adult population, but earn less than six percent of all dollars earned in the U.S. In the 50 largest cities, the median income for high school dropouts is $14,000 — significantly lower than the median income of $24,000 for high school graduates and $48,000 for college graduates. Nationally, high school dropouts were also the only group of workers who saw income levels decline over the last 30 years.
The report, funded in part by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, analyzes school district data from the U.S. Department of Education’s Common Core of Data (2004-05). The country’s 50 largest cities were identified using 2006 data from the U.S. Census Bureau and economic and employment conditions were gathered from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2007 American Community Survey.
Other Report Findings:
Other findings of the analysis released today include:
- Sixteen of the nation’s 50 largest cities had a graduation rate lower than 50 percent in the principal school district serving the city
- Those with the lowest graduation rates include Indianapolis (31 percent), Cleveland (34 percent), Detroit (38 percent), Milwaukee (41 percent), Baltimore (41 percent), Atlanta (44 percent), Los Angeles (44 percent), Las Vegas (45 percent), and Columbus (45 percent).
- Students in the suburban areas of the nation’s 50 largest cities were considerably more likely to graduate (77 percent) than students in the country’s urban schools (59 percent)
- Cities with the largest gap between their suburban and urban schools include Cleveland (43 percent), Baltimore (39 percent), Columbus (38 percent), Milwaukee (35 percent), and Nashville (33 percent)
What is being said about Cities in Crisis 2009:
“The ten-year graduation rates show that progress is being made in some of America’s largest cities, but significant work remains. In order to continue to move forward and make the U.S. competitive in today’s global economy, we must work together like never before to provide the supports that young people need in order to graduate high school ready for college, work, and life.” — Alma Powell, chair of America’s Promise Alliance, which was founded in 1997 with her husband, Gen. Colin Powell as its founding chair
"As the president said, every young person who drops out of high school is not only quitting on himself but is also quitting on his country. Similarly, every high school dropout represents not only a failure on the part of a school and an individual, but a larger failure of society to lead our children to success in education.” — Arne Duncan, U.S. Secretary of Education
“Research is clear about what helps kids stay in school and as we’ve all come to realize with the current economic crisis, investing in education is not only an essential part of improving graduation rates, but of supporting meaningful economic recovery. Our government has shown bold leadership in elevating education, but this means the real work must begin now. We must seize this historic moment and make sure that young people are surrounded by strong support systems, caring teachers, proper nutrition, a safe place to learn and be after school, and opportunities to give back to others. Learning from the example set forth by our summits, we know that by working together we can make sure our children graduate with the skills they need to succeed.” — Marguerite Kondracke, president and CEO, America’s Promise Alliance
Changes in Graduation Rates for the Main School Systems in the Nation’s 50 Largest Cities
City |
Principal School District |
Graduation Rate (Class of 2005) |
Graduation Rate (Class of 1995) |
Change (Percentage Points) |
Philadelphia |
Philadelphia City School District |
62.1% |
38.9% |
+23.2 |
Tucson |
Tucson Unified District |
71.6% |
48.9% |
+22.7 |
Kansas City |
Kansas City School District |
53.5% |
33.6% |
+19.7 |
El Paso |
El Paso ISA |
60.6% |
46.6% |
+13.9 |
Portland, Ore. |
Portland School District |
68.6% |
55.4% |
+13.1 |
New York |
New York City Public Schools |
50.5% |
37.8% |
+12.8 |
Dallas |
Dallas ISD |
50.8% |
38.2% |
+12.7 |
Columbus |
Columbus Public Schools |
44.7% |
32.1% |
+12.6 |
Mesa |
Mesa Unified District |
76.6% |
64.6% |
+12.0 |
Austin |
Austin ISD |
58.9% |
47.5% |
+11.5 |
Atlanta |
Atlanta City School District |
43.5% |
32.8% |
+10.8 |
Fort Worth |
Fort Worth ISD |
56.5% |
46.1% |
+10.4 |
Miami |
Dade County School District |
55.9% |
5.6% |
+10.4 |
Houston |
Houston ISD |
52.9% |
43.1% |
+9.8 |
Chicago |
City of Chicago School District |
51.0% |
41.8% |
+9.2 |
Oakland, Calif. |
Oakland Unified |
50.5% |
41.3% |
+9.2 |
Virginia Beach |
Virginia Beach City Public Schools |
68.5% |
59.7% |
+8.8 |
Baltimore |
Baltimore City Public School System |
41.5% |
33.8% |
+7.7 |
Denver |
Denver County School District |
58.6% |
51.7% |
+6.9 |
Detroit |
Detroit City School District |
37.5% |
30.5% |
+6.9 |
San Antonio |
San Antonio ISD |
47.3% |
40.9% |
+6.4 |
Phoenix |
Phoenix Union High School District |
58.0% |
52.4% |
+5.6 |
Indianapolis |
Indianapolis Public Schools |
30.5% |
25.2% |
+5.3 |
Oklahoma City |
Oklahoma City Public Schools |
47.0% |
41.7% |
+5.3 |
Milwaukee |
Milwaukee Public Schools |
41.0% |
35.8% |
+5.2 |
Sacramento |
Sacramento City Unified |
62.1% |
57.2% |
+4.9 |
District of Columbia |
District of Columbia Public Schools |
57.6% |
52.8% |
+4.8 |
Colorado Springs |
Colorado Springs School District |
68.8% |
64.1% |
+4.6 |
Honolulu |
Hawaii Department of Education |
67.4% |
63.7% |
+3.6 |
Nashville |
Nashville-Davidson Co. School District |
45.2% |
42.0% |
+3.1 |
Jacksonville |
Duval County School District |
50.8% |
50.2% |
+0.7 |
Louisville |
Jefferson County School District |
63.4% |
63.7% |
-0.3 |
Seattle |
Seattle School District |
68.9% |
69.6% |
-0.7 |
Memphis |
Memphis City School District |
51.2% |
52.5% |
-1.2 |
Fresno |
Fresno Unified |
51.9% |
53.4% |
-1.5 |
Boston |
Boston Public Schools |
58.6% |
60.3% |
-1.7 |
Minneapolis |
Minneapolis Public Schools |
45.3% |
47.0% |
-1.7 |
San Jose |
San Jose Unified |
73.3% |
75.0% |
-1.8 |
Tulsa |
Tulsa Public Schools |
48.5% |
50.6% |
-2.0 |
Charlotte |
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools |
60.5% |
62.7% |
-2.3 |
San Diego |
San Diego Unified |
63.7% |
66.0% |
-2.4 |
Los Angeles |
Los Angeles Unified |
44.4% |
48.0% |
-3.6 |
Long Beach |
Long Beach Unified |
64.0% |
67.7% |
-3.7 |
Cleveland |
Cleveland Municipal City School District |
34.4% |
39.3% |
-4.9 |
San Francisco |
San Francisco Unified |
57.1% |
63.6% |
-6.5 |
Albuquerque |
Albuquerque Public Schools |
49.0% |
55.6% |
-6.6 |
Arlington, Tex. |
Arlington ISD |
60.3% |
72.0% |
-11.6 |
Omaha |
Omaha Public Schools |
49.6% |
64.4% |
-14.8 |
Wichita |
Wichita Public Schools |
54.5% |
72.1% |
-17.6 |
Las Vegas |
Clark County School District |
44.5% |
67.6% |
-23.1 |
50-City Average |
52.8% |
48.3% |
+4.4 | |
National Average |
70.6% |
65.8% |
+4.8 |
NOTE: Graduation rates are calculated using the Cumulative Promotion Index method with data from the U.S. Department of Education’s Common Core of Data. Rankings are based on non-rounded statistics. SOURCE: EPE Research Center, 2008