On-time graduation rates in Prairie South School Division (PSSD) last year were one-per-cent below the organization’s goal but nearly 14-per-cent higher than the provincial average, new data shows.
The school division set a target of 90 per cent for on-time graduation and 92 per cent for extended graduation for the 2021-22 year. The data showed that on-time grad rates were 89.2 per cent, compared to 75.59 per cent for the province.
No data was available for extended grad rates.
On-time graduation is when students complete Grade 12 within three years of starting Grade 10. Extended graduation is when youths complete Grade 12 over four to five years after starting Grade 10.
In comparison, the division’s on-time graduation rate in 2020-21 was 87.05 per cent, while the provincial average was 79.2 per cent. Meanwhile, PSSD’s extended grad rate was 89.6 per cent, while the provincial average was 83.47 per cent.
In 2019-20, PSSD’s on-time grad rate was 90.99 per cent and its extended grad rate was 94.37 per cent, while the provincial averages were 80.2 per cent and 83.47 per cent, respectively. However, graduation rates were skewed that year because students automatically earned credits when the pandemic shut down schools in March.
Division administration presented the information during the recent Prairie South board meeting.
“Our current graduation rate … was 89.2 per cent, so we’re slightly below the 90 per cent that we wanted, but we have always been steadily going up,” said Derrick Huschi, superintendent of school operations. “We started at about 83 (to) 84 per cent in 2015. We have steadily climbed, with us peaking at 2019-20, but that’s not a true indication.”
Division administration grouped schools when looking at the average graduation rates for those areas, he continued. This ensured that the division didn’t identify smaller schools in small communities where people know each other.
The north cluster — composed of Avonlea, Belle Plaine, Central Butte, Cornerstone, Chaplin, Craik, Eyebrow, Mortlach and Rouleau — had 66 students graduate last year, or 94.35 per cent.
The south cluster — Bengough, Coronach, Glentworth, Gravelbourg, Kincaid, Lafleche, Mankota, Mossbank and Rockglen — had 77 students graduate, or 85.71 per cent.
High schools — including Peacock, Central, Riverview, Assiniboia, Briercrest and the Virtual School — had 350 students graduate, or 86.7 per cent.
The grad rates for the north and south clusters usually fluctuate yearly, although both have higher rates than the high school cluster, Huschi added. Furthermore, the rates can be heavily skewed because the number of graduates is small. The grad rate could “absolutely” change if one or two more students graduated.
PSSD has a grad support program to help students in their journey through high school, while it puts students in categories to determine how they are doing, he said. Students in green will attain their credits on time, students in yellow could attain their credits on time, while pupils in red will not graduate on time and require an extra year or two.
For example, last year in Grade 12, eight students at Peacock, four at Central and four at Riverview were in the green category. Meanwhile, one student at Central and three at Riverview were in yellow and one student at Riverview was in red.
“The program targets those students who are in yellow to help move them into the green,” he said.
Tracking grad rates for First Nations, Inuit and Metis pupils is difficult because the sample size “is very, very small” since so few self-identify, Huschi added. The division is working to determine how it can make self-identifying more acceptable or help students feel comfortable revealing their Aboriginal heritage.
The next PSSD board meeting is Tuesday, Nov. 1
