School & District Management

Cities in Crisis

By Chris Swanson — May 26, 2010 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

Introduction

Graduation rates have become a prominent feature in the landscape of high school reform and within the larger world of educational policy. Studies conducted over the past several years have repeatedly demonstrated that far fewer American students are completing high school with diplomas than had previously been realized. Whereas the conventional wisdom had long placed the graduation rate around 85 percent, a growing consensus has emerged that only about seven in 10 students are actually successfully finishing high school. Graduation rates are even lower among certain student populations, particularly racial and ethnic minorities and males.

Full Report Download
Cities in Crisis PDF

That same conventional wisdom also suggests that the type of community in which a student lives and attends school will exert a strong and pervasive influence on a variety of educational outcomes. This connection between place and performance applies to both the experiences of individual students and the collective performance of schools and school systems. Striking differences between schools situated in urban and suburban environments, for instance, have frequently been documented in the area of tested achievement. An analysis by the EPE Research Center also shows that high school graduation rates are 15 percentage points lower in the nation’s urban schools when compared with those located in the suburbs. Despite the acknowledged importance of such contextual factors, apart from attention to broad national-level patterns, there has been limited detailed investigation into the connection between where a young person lives and his or her chances of graduating from high school.

This report takes a geographically-informed approach to the issue of high school completion. Specifically, we examine graduation rates in the school districts serving the nation’s 50 most-populous cities as well as the larger metropolitan areas in which they are situated. Results show that graduation rates are considerably lower in the nation’s largest cities than they are in the average urban locale. Further, extreme disparities emerge in a number of the country’s largest metropolitan areas, where students served by suburban systems may be twice as likely as their urban peers to graduate from high school.

Read the full report in PDF.

Events

This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Professional Development Webinar
Evidence & Impact: Maximizing ROI in Professional Learning
  Is your professional learning driving real impact? Learn data-driven strategies to design effective PL.
Content provided by New Teacher Center
Budget & Finance Webinar School Finance in an Uncertain Age
Navigating the new school finance reality? Get key insights from the 2025 Allovue Education Finance Survey in partnership.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Assessment Webinar
Reflections on Evidence-Based Grading Practices: What We Learned for Next Year
Get real insights on evidence-based grading from K-12 leaders.
Content provided by Otus

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

School & District Management Quiz Quiz Yourself: How Well Do You Understand K-12 Leaders’ Social Media Habits?
Test your knowledge of how school and district leaders use social media—what platforms they prefer, how often they post, and getting their attention.
School & District Management A Superintendent's Balancing Act Amid Trump's DEI Crackdown
Districts are trying to navigate a dizzying pace of new federal orders and continue working with as little fanfare as possible.
6 min read
Tightly cropped photo of an African American woman's hands around a paper cutout of different colored paper people.
iStock/Getty
School & District Management Opinion 5 Cost-Free Ways to Make Life Better for Teachers (Downloadable)
Two educators offer school leaders simple suggestions for improving the lives of teachers and students in this guide.
Diana Laufenberg & Renee Jones
1 min read
Clock on desk with school supplies on the table.
iStock/Getty
School & District Management Q&A Speaking Up for Students Is Part of This Principal's Job
Terri Daniels, the National Advocacy Champion of the Year, says principals must advocate on behalf of their students.
6 min read
California principal and NASSP Advocacy Champion award winner Terri Daniels poses with NASSP President Raquel Martinez and NASSP CEO Ronn Nozo.
Terri Daniels, the principal of Folsom Middle School in California, poses with National Association of Secondary School Principals President Raquel Martinez and NASSP CEO Ronn Nozo. Daniels was named the 2025 NASSP Advocacy Champion of the Year and recognized in Washington, D.C., on April 11.
Courtesy of NASSP