Educators livid over college 'success' report

Local school superintendents are livid over what they say is massively inaccurate data about how many of their high school graduates go on to and graduate from college.

"We have a sense of how our students are doing and if they're succeeding in college," said South Orangetown schools Superintendent Ken Mitchell, immediate past president of the Lower Hudson Council of School Superintendents.

His district was reported as having 62 percent of 2012 high school graduates still in college in 2014 when he said the real number is 89 percent.

"The report is called 'Where are They Now?' We know where these kids are," he said. "This is a huge discrepancy. That's why we're so angry."

The data, presented to the state Board of Regents on Monday, were compiled from information provided by the National Student Clearinghouse, a nonprofit organization that provides services to about 98 percent of the country's colleges and universities.

There were some inaccuracies, a state education official acknowledged.

Not all colleges and universities send data; some data are incomplete; some students opt out of having their data included; and some schools did not provide information for students who don't receive financial aid, said Ken Wagner, deputy commissioner for curriculum, assessment and education technology.

He said the state felt that at most 3 percent of the numbers were inaccurate; the Clearinghouse's website says its numbers are 95 percent accurate. New York City, which contracted with the Clearinghouse privately, found a 3 percent error rate, Wagner said.

"We made it very clear this was intended (for) program resources and planning, not high-stakes (Regents) decisions," Wagner said. "We tried to express this was not talking about the numbers but doing the reports to help address whether or not there were surprises in a district."

Byram Hills schools Superintendent William Donohue found a 9 percentage-point discrepancy in the numbers.

"I think their belief they know more about what's going on in our backyard than we do is mistaken and, I think, once again, the confidence that they put in data is misplaced and this study just makes it obvious," he said.

Harrison schools Superintendent Louis Wool said he felt the state's reform agenda was based on the faulty notion that public schools were failing, and that the new data were designed to bolster that view.

"The reality is that most school districts across the state are already doing an effective job of preparing kids for college. To misrepresent the facts in such a clear and purposeful way is irresponsible," he said.

Some discrepancies between the state's and local districts' data on students still in college

Pearl River HS: state: 82%, district-provided: 97%

Rye Neck HS: state: 80%, district-provided: 98%

Tappan Zee HS: state: 62%, district-provided: 89%

Valhalla HS: state: 79%,district-provided: 97%

Source: Ken Mitchell, past president, Lower Hudson Council of School Superintendents