Getting a 100 percent graduation rate has quickly become a national goal, with people seeing it as perhaps the key to being able to compete with other nations throughout the world.
BY ALISON SHINSKEY
The graduation rate at Coventry High School has increased to an astonishing 91 percent this past year! The causes for this increase may include new technology and easier-to-reach graduation requirements, or it may simply be that students are acknowledging the importance of getting a good education.
“I think it’s great that it’s improving,” commented Donna Beaudoin, the head of the Guidance Department. “In a word, I am ecstatic. It’s always good news to move up in category.” She claims that the rate was actually hovering at around 88 percent for a while, but it seems that this trend has been broken.
In terms of technology, the introduction of the chromebook to all district middle and high school students has made quite the positive impact. The current generation is always surrounded by technology, so students are more interested in what they are learning. Additionally, with the introduction of Google Classroom, students now have much less of a problem of making up work and getting access to missed assignments when they are absent. Mrs. Beaudoin has pointed out that CHS also offers helpful online courses as well.
Another factor includes the curriculum becoming more organized. According to Beaudoin, the new Common Core curriculum has definitely helped unify schools in the district, state, and nationally. While many students complain that Common Core tests and curriculums ask too much from them, it does seem to have some benefit. Beaudoin also claims the district has also gotten a lot better in collaborating to get students ready to go from elementary school to middle school and from middle school to high school. The class placement system has been greatly improved over the years. Though it may not seem like this would make much of an impact on graduation, Beaudoin says, “If they like where they’re at, they’ll stay in school.”
Higher graduation rates are not just happening in this school district. Beaudoin believes that though it may vary in magnitude, this effect is nationwide. Getting a 100 percent graduation rate has quickly become a national goal, with people seeing it as perhaps the key to being able to compete with other nations throughout the world.
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