Nearly 1 in 5 HWDSB students not graduating on time

Nearly one in five students at Hamilton's public board isn't graduating on time.

The latest provincial school board progress reports show a slight increase in the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board's five-year graduation rate - 81.6 per cent in 2020, up from 80.5 per cent in 2019. But the rate remains in the bottom third of Ontario school boards, well below the provincial average of 88 per cent.

Data from the HWDSB, which measures its graduation rate based only on students who finish high school with the board, shows that 83 per cent of students graduated by August 2020.

In a Nov. 24 release, the board said the increase marks a sixth consecutive cohort with a graduation rate at or above 80 per cent."

Based on the board's numbers, the five-year graduation rate rose from 79 per cent in 2014 to 80 per cent in 2015, and fluctuated between 81 and 82 per cent from 2016 to 2019.

It is a celebration, but it is Phase 1, and Phase 2 is going to be the critical work," said education director Manny Figueiredo.

He said the board's equity action plan is going to be foundational around moving student achievement ... even higher."

According to provincial data, the HWDSB four-year graduation rate is about 74 per cent - on par with the previous year. The provincial four-year rate is 82 per cent.

The Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic District School Board's 2020 five-year figure of 87 per cent - an increase from 86 per cent in 2019 - falls just below the provincial average.

As reported by the province, graduation rates at neighbouring school boards vary - Halton District School Board has a five-year graduation rate of nearly 93 per cent, while Grand Erie District School Board's rate is about 79 per cent.

The HWDSB has the 14th lowest graduation rate in the province.

They have stalled," said Judith Bishop, a former HWDSB trustee. If you have a four-year graduation rate that low, then that means that these lower-city schools are not doing any better."

Bishop said school-level data from nearly a decade ago shows vast disparities between schools.

I have a feeling that nothing has changed," she said.

The board doesn't currently receive graduation rates by school, spokesperson Shawn McKillop said in an email.

HWDSB chair Dawn Danko said low rates could in part be contributed to the city's high child poverty rate.

Socioeconomic status is a factor that impacts ... education level, which often relates to (parents') ability to support students, particularly in later grades, but also sometimes those reading behaviours early on that are really important for students before they get to our schools," she said.

Annie Kidder, executive director for Ontario advocacy group People for Education, said it is important that we have integrated policy that deals with persistent poverty."

I think we have been too quick in the past to say, this is a problem of poverty, not a problem of education,'" she said. With enough support and with the right kinds of policies, part of the job of public education is to be able to overcome intergenerational cycles of poverty."

Kidder added that graduation rates in Ontario are comparatively high," falling somewhere in the middle among provinces.

Kate McCullough is a Hamilton-based reporter covering education at The Spectator. Reach her via email: kmccullough@thespec.com