Oceanside corrects graduation statistics

Newsweek published its 2015 top 500 high schools in the nation and once again Oceanside High School made the list, as it did in 2014. However the new list used different criteria than the 2014 list, which led to the school district challenging the data. The district said the article incorrectly stated the rate of poverty and the high school graduation rate.

“In the Newsweek article, our graduation rate is reported accurately as 97.8 percent,” said Dr. Phyllis S. Harrington, superintendent of Oceanside Schools.

In 2014 Newsweek used a graduation percentile, instead of percentage. A percentile is a ranking of sorts in which data is compared. The figure for 2014 is a ranking of Oceanside among other schools with a graduation rate in the high 90s. The 31.6 percent given for 2014 reflects that percentile calculation, as opposed to the 2015 calculation of a 97.8 percent graduation rate. The district noted that using a percentile means among schools with similar graduation rates, one could differ by two points and be in a very different percentile.

The Herald reported that Oceanside was also listed as meeting an equity measure by helping low income students score at or above the average on state assessment tests, the second list called “Beat the Odds,” is — according to Newsweek — a “relative list” based on performance but taking into account poverty rates.

The data on poverty that The Herald reported based on Newsweek’s story also appears to be a ranking comparing the poverty rates of schools on the list. OHS was included in a separate listing in Newsweek of schools that “Beat the Odds” based on the high performance of students who received free and reduced lunch.

The correct percentage of students in Oceanside High School receiving free and reduced lunch for 2014-15 was 13 percent, while the district number was 15 percent. This number has remained consistent over time, according to Dr. David Wayne, the district’s recently retired director of technology. There was a small and brief increase in the percentage of Oceanside students receiving free and reduced lunch following Hurricane Sandy.

“We originally had thought that fallout from Sandy might explain Newsweek’s figure,” said Susanne Murphy, Chief Information Officer for the school district, “but when we looked at the numbers closely, we realized that didn’t explain the discrepancy.