For some graduates of Madison County High School, academic success has continued beyond high school. High college grade point averages, good HOPE scholarship retention rates and low remedial rates are just some of the areas in which MCHS graduates have performed well.
For other students in the Madison County School System, success has been more elusive.
REMEDIAL RATES
In recent years, the Georgia Department of Education expanded its efforts to better prepare students for college by adopting a more rigorous curriculum, implementing new graduation rules and strengthening the requirements for the HOPE scholarship.
Despite these changes, 22 percent of students statewide still required remedial instruction once admitted to the University System of Georgia (USG). According to USG, the cost for providing this remedial instruction is approximately $25 million each year.
After years of better than average performance in college, the remedial instruction rates for graduates of Madison County High School began to climb.
In 2002, only eight percent of MCHS graduates were required to take remedial courses in English, reading or mathematics. By 2004, the rate had risen to 18 percent - above the state average of 17 percent. After dropping well below the state average in 2005 and 2006, the remedial instruction rate spiked again in 2007 with 25 percent of MCHS graduates requiring remedial instruction.
Last year, the rate improved, dropping to 22 percent – just one percent above the state average.
Madison County High School principal Chad Stone attributes this improvement to more advanced placement courses and an increased emphasis on preparing students for the next level.
MAKING THE GRADE
While remedial instruction rates have fluctuated over the past several years, one constant for MCHS graduates has been a good grade point average at the end of the freshman year of college.
Since 2002, Madison County High School graduates have, on average, consistently met the 3.0 GPA required for retention of the HOPE scholarship.
The Helping Outstanding Pupils Educationally (HOPE) program was started by former Governor Zell Miller to give deserving students the opportunity to continue their education.
To be eligible for HOPE, students must maintain at least a 3.0 average in core curriculum classes.
In 2008, 75 percent of MCHS graduates who attended a University System of Georgia institution received a HOPE scholarship. Statewide, only 50 percent of high school graduates in the USG were HOPE eligible.
COLLEGE BOUND
Though MCHS graduates are performing well at college, fewer and fewer are choosing to enroll in the University System of Georgia.
In 2008, only 23 percent of Madison County High School graduates enrolled in USG institutions. The statewide average was 37 percent for all public high school graduates.
The 2008 results were consistent with previous years in which the college-going rate for MCHS graduates has averaged 11 percent lower than the statewide percentage.
While graduates may shun the University System of Georgia, interest remains high in Georgia public technical and adult schools.
In 2007, the most recent year for which data is available, over 26 percent of MCHS graduates chose to continue their education in a career or technical school. Statewide, only 10 percent of students chose to pursue this path.
Stone said he and his staff are focused on helping students pursue a postsecondary education.
“We’re pushing that education does not stop at high school,” he said.
In addition to inviting colleges to campus and taking students on field trips to visit local colleges, the school has also received a grant targeted on improving college enrollment rates.
“We want our kids to do what is best for them,” he said. “We want them to continue at the secondary level outside of high school. We just try to get them into an area that they will be successful with.”
RAISING THE BAR
While Madison County High School graduates attending college are doing well, many students in the Madison County School system are not making it out of high school.
In the past five years, the graduation rates at MCHS have consistently been below the state average. In 2008, only 62 percent of MCHS seniors graduated. This number was 13 percent lower than the statewide average of 75 percent.
In 2009, the rate improved dramatically to 70 percent. While this was still below the state average of 78 percent, it represented a significant achievement for school administrators, teachers and students.
“We’re very pleased,” Stone said. “Our teachers have gone the extra mile and helped our kids. They have worked with kids that were struggling.”
Stone said a credit recovery program and graduation test reviews also helped get several students back on track to graduate.
Recognizing that a student’s chances for a successful career are severely diminished without a high school diploma, Stone and his staff have worked to help those who fail to graduate on time.
Stone said once a student fails to graduate, he and his staff members show the students different options including online diplomas, GED and technical school choices.
“The more education you get, the better off you are going to be,” Stone said. “We just try to let them know it is not the end of the world. Even though we want everyone to graduate, there are other options you can pursue to help you succeed in life.”
