Where Are the Missing Black and Latino MCPS Graduates?

In , I referred to a recent Montgomery County Public Schools report "College Readiness and Postsecondary Educational Outcomes for 2003 Graduates of Montgomery County Public Schools." I mentioned the report because it provides some basic information about the college graduation rates of MCPS graduates from the Class of 2003. One can view the report by clicking here.

If readers take a look at Table 6 on page 15, they will discover that MCPS did not tracking all of its 2003 graduates into and through college graduation. Of the 8,799 seniors in the Class of 2003, researchers were able to track only 72 percent, or 6,293 graduates. Thus, 28 percent, or 2,506 graduates, were not tracked. But the number of untracked African American (black) and Hispanic (Latino) students is much higher. Of the 1,604 black graduates, researchers were not able to track 42 percent, or 667 graduates. Of the 1,103 Latino graduates, researchers were not able to track 50 percent, or 546.

Under its Seven Keys initiative, I love that MCPS wants 80 percent of its graduates to attend college. And I love that MCPS is tracking its graduates and figuring out how many earn a college degree — so they can actually judge if the 80 percent target is reached. But I’m also worried that if large numbers of graduates are missing from the research effort — aren’t tracked, then conclusions drawn about how well MCPS graduates are doing in college may be wrong for some groups.

So, where are the missing black and Latino graduates? What happened to them? Did they enroll in college later? And if they did, why isn’t MCPS picking them up in their tracking efforts? We need to see a complete picture before we can figure out if the Seven Keys are the right keys.