More Temecula Students Are Graduating High School

More Temecula students are graduating high school, an uptick reflected state- and county-wide, according to data released Tuesday.

Overall, more than 9 out of 10 students in the Temecula Valley Unified School District, or 93.1 percent, who started high school in 2008-2009 graduated with their class in 2012, numbers from the California Department of Education showed. This is up from 92.4 percent in 2010-2011.

This earns Temecula Valley Unified the highest graduation rate—and consequently the lowest dropout rate—in the county. The top five also included Murrieta Valley Unified, Corona-Norco, Val Verde and Lake Elsinore unified school districts, respectively.

"We’re pleased to see our district’s graduation rate continue to increase each year. It’s gone up 1.4 percent in the past three years," said District Spokeswoman Melanie Norton. "This is the type of progress we like to see and it shows we’re moving in the right direction."

Among the district's three comprehensive high schools, Great Oak High School produced a 97.4 percent cohort graduation rate, while Chaparral's rate was 95.7 percent. At Temecula Valley, 94.6 percent of the cohort graduated within four years.

At Susan H. Nelson High School, the district's independent study high school, 68 percent of students graduated with their class, an increase from 62.5 percent the previous year.

Of the district's three greatest population groups, Hispanic, White and African American, 90.8 percent of Hispanics graduated with their peers—an increase over the previous year's 88.2 percent. Of Whites, 94.4 percent graduated, up from 94 percent the previous year. Of African Americans, 89 percent earned their high school diplomas within four years, a slight decrease from the previous year's 92.8 percent.

The district's Asian population accomplished the highest cohort graduation rate: 96.1 percent, which was up from 94.8 percent in 2010-2011.

Riverside County's graduation rate went from 80 percent in 2010-2011 to 82.3 percent in 2011-2012.

"Our first and foremost goal in public education, from preschool through 12th grade, must be to have every student complete high school," said Riverside County Superintendent of Schools Kenneth M. Young. "A diploma is the basic indicator of each student’s preparedness for their future. If a student does not complete high school, statistics overwhelmingly show that they will not have much of a chance at experiencing a good quality of life in the future."

Young also noted "For the past several years, we have placed a major emphasis on significantly increasing our county’s high school graduation rate, and it is starting to pay off. Between 2006 and 2012, we moved from 6th in the state to third highest in 2012."

The greatest improvements were seen in the county's Hispanic and African American students, whose graduation rates increased more than three percentage points from the previous year.

Throughout California, 78.5 percent of students who started high school in 2008-2009 graduated with their class in 2012. That is up 1.4 percentage points from the year before.

During a Tuesday morning press call with State Superintendent of Schools Tom Torlakson, officials discussed the California’s “closing of the achievement gap.”

Statewide, African American and Hispanic students showed gains in grad rates in 2011-12. According to Tuesday’s numbers, the statewide graduation rate for African American students was 65.7 percent, a 2.9 percent increase over the 2010-11 school year. For Hispanic students, the 2011-12 rate was 73.2 percent, a 1.8 percent increase over the previous year.

While officials were pleased with the upward direction, they acknowledged there is still a long way to go.

"We’re going to have to double our efforts" if the rates are to equalize with non-Hispanic white students by 2020, said Dr. Pamela Short Powell, president of the California Association of African-American Superintendents and Administrators.

Torlakson said improved graduation rates have been the result of better data that allows educators to identify key areas in need of improvement. Tuesday’s numbers were calculated based on four-year cohort data, meaning they track the same group of students from grades nine through 12.

"There has been a greater focus on closing the achievement gap," Torlakson said. "The focus is what has driven a lot of this. It’s part of an accountability system."

—Toni McAllister contributed to this report.