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It ain't cheap to educate a Windham student. According to a study released by Raising Hale, a media project of the Yankee Institute for Public Policy it cost $258,565.33 to educate a Windham student, from kindergarten through high school graduation. The average Connecticut school district spends $165,000.
Windham Schools rank forth most expensive in Connecticut, only behind Hartford ($283,482.00), New Britain ($274.364.00) and New Haven ($267,897.00)
Over a quarter million dollars spent educating each student, $93,565 per student more then the average school district. And what do we get for this $258,565.00 investment?
Not much, Windham's graduation rate (61%) is the second lowest in Connecticut. Bridgeport graduates even fewer. Windham's Cap proficiency tests are the second lowest in Connecticut New Britain has the distinction of having the lowest.Colchester educated its students most efficiently of the 111 districts reviewed, spending only $129,099 over13 years.
See full report with links below
Cost of Connecticut high school diploma: $165,000
June 14, 2013 at 2:07 PM| 17 days Ago by Zachary Janowsk
Raising Hale Blog
The average cost of educating a child from kindergarten through high school graduation in Connecticut is about $165,000, up nearly 10 percent from last year.
According to Department of Education data, Hartford spent the most for each student who received a high school diploma, $283,482.
Colchester educated its students most efficiently of the 111 districts reviewed, spending only $129,099 over 13 years.
This measure of cost per graduate includes 13 years of per pupil costs divided by the graduation rate to adjust for students who the district paid to teach but who did not graduate.
New Britain, New Haven, Windham and New London are the next most expensive school districts.
The Glastonbury, Tolland, Wolcott and Suffield school districts joined Colchester as the most efficient in the state. They accomplished this by combining relatively low total costs per student and high graduation rates.
Madison ranked as seventh-most efficient school district, yet it has the highest average performance on the Connecticut Academic Performance Test.
Especially in wealthy districts, spending and test results don’t have a clear relationship. In a number of the comparison groups established by the state, more efficient districts have test results that are indistinguishable from their peers.
Ridgefield has similar outcomes to Westport, yet spent $40,000 less on the career of each student. Glastonbury outperforms Greenwich on the CAPT, yet spent $70,000 less on each student.
Raising Hale has done similar rankings in 2010, 2011 and 2012.
The Department of Education changed the way it calculates graduation rates two years ago. Since there is a two-year lag in the data, this change is reflected for the first time in 2012.
Under the new method of calculating graduation rates – by cohort, or incoming freshman class – many graduation rates are lower than under the old method.
The change in methodology makes it difficult to compare 2011 and 2012 data. However, the data for 2012 and 2013 are comparable.
2013 Data
Sorted by Rank | DRG| Alphabetical
Highest-cost districts
1. Hartford School District $283,482
2. New Britain School District $274,361
3. New Haven School District $267,897
4. Windham School District $258,565
5. New London School District $255,988
Average cost: $164,672
Lowest-cost districts
107. Glastonbury School District $131,679
108. Tolland School District $130,311
109. Wolcott School District $129,254
110. Suffield School District $129,178
111. Colchester School District $129,099
Methodology:
To calculate the cost per graduate, the Yankee Institute took data from the Connecticut Department of Education for average annual expenditures per student going back 13 years, representing kindergarten through 12th grade. After totaling the cost, it was divided by the graduation rate to come up with the lifetime cost per graduate. The 13th year is the 2010-2011 school year, and data is not adjusted for inflation, so the real cost of 2012 graduates is higher than calculated. Communities with high annual costs, more drop outs and lower graduation rates end up with the more expensive graduates. Some regional school districts, districts with less than 13 years of data, charter schools and other non-traditional schools were left out of the calculations to keep the data consistent for the greatest number of schools.
Also, the calculations do not include costs for school construction or teacher pensions,
Raising Hale Blog
The average cost of educating a child from kindergarten through high school graduation in Connecticut is about $165,000, up nearly 10 percent from last year.
According to Department of Education data, Hartford spent the most for each student who received a high school diploma, $283,482.
Colchester educated its students most efficiently of the 111 districts reviewed, spending only $129,099 over 13 years.
This measure of cost per graduate includes 13 years of per pupil costs divided by the graduation rate to adjust for students who the district paid to teach but who did not graduate.
New Britain, New Haven, Windham and New London are the next most expensive school districts.
The Glastonbury, Tolland, Wolcott and Suffield school districts joined Colchester as the most efficient in the state. They accomplished this by combining relatively low total costs per student and high graduation rates.
Madison ranked as seventh-most efficient school district, yet it has the highest average performance on the Connecticut Academic Performance Test.
Especially in wealthy districts, spending and test results don’t have a clear relationship. In a number of the comparison groups established by the state, more efficient districts have test results that are indistinguishable from their peers.
Ridgefield has similar outcomes to Westport, yet spent $40,000 less on the career of each student. Glastonbury outperforms Greenwich on the CAPT, yet spent $70,000 less on each student.
Raising Hale has done similar rankings in 2010, 2011 and 2012.
The Department of Education changed the way it calculates graduation rates two years ago. Since there is a two-year lag in the data, this change is reflected for the first time in 2012.
Under the new method of calculating graduation rates – by cohort, or incoming freshman class – many graduation rates are lower than under the old method.
The change in methodology makes it difficult to compare 2011 and 2012 data. However, the data for 2012 and 2013 are comparable.
2013 Data
Sorted by Rank | DRG| Alphabetical
Highest-cost districts
1. Hartford School District $283,482
2. New Britain School District $274,361
3. New Haven School District $267,897
4. Windham School District $258,565
5. New London School District $255,988
Average cost: $164,672
Lowest-cost districts
107. Glastonbury School District $131,679
108. Tolland School District $130,311
109. Wolcott School District $129,254
110. Suffield School District $129,178
111. Colchester School District $129,099
Methodology:
To calculate the cost per graduate, the Yankee Institute took data from the Connecticut Department of Education for average annual expenditures per student going back 13 years, representing kindergarten through 12th grade. After totaling the cost, it was divided by the graduation rate to come up with the lifetime cost per graduate. The 13th year is the 2010-2011 school year, and data is not adjusted for inflation, so the real cost of 2012 graduates is higher than calculated. Communities with high annual costs, more drop outs and lower graduation rates end up with the more expensive graduates. Some regional school districts, districts with less than 13 years of data, charter schools and other non-traditional schools were left out of the calculations to keep the data consistent for the greatest number of schools.
Also, the calculations do not include costs for school construction or teacher pensions,
I guess you could say that your high school diploma is really important if you are going to those schools. Now days, you can't get a decent job without at least a high school diploma. I feel very accomplished that I finished and got my diploma because it has made me seek out for more education. I felt like graduating was finally being able to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I know that I will have my college degree in no time.
ReplyDeleteZach | http://www.academycanada.com/programs-and-courses/adult-basic-education/