FACTS ABOUT THE ROCHESTER CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT

Poverty

Of New York State’s five largest urban districts, Rochester has the highest percentage of students living in poverty:

Academic Performance

• More fourth-grade students are meeting standards in Math. Our passing rate was 45% in 2002, 57% in 2003, 64% in 2004 and 73% in 2005.  In 2006, the first year of new standards and a new exam, 63% of our students met standards.
  
  
• More fourth-grade students are meeting standards in ELA. Our passing rate was 46% in 2002, 43% in 2003, 42% in 2004, and 57% in 2005. In 2006, the first year of new standards and a new exam, 50% of our students met standards.
  
  
• More fourth-grade students are meeting standards in Science. Our passing rate was 51% in 2003, 67% in 2004, and 69% in 2005. In 2006, the first year of new standards and a new exam, 80% of our students met standards.
  
  
• Fifth grade students meeting standards in Social Studies in 2003 was 61% in 2003, 68% in 2004, and 80% in 2005. In 2006, the first year of new standards and a new exam, 71% of our students met standards.

In addition:

• More students, including Latino and African-American students, are scoring higher on State exams.
  
  
• Many Rochester schools have been recognized statewide and nationally as among the highest performing.
  
  
• Seven Rochester schools were removed from the State’s list of schools in need of improvement in the last three years.
  
  
• 37 of 39 elementary schools are listed in “Good Standing” with the State Education Department.
  
  
• 15 of 19 high schools are currently listed in “Good Standing” with the State Education Department.
  
  
• Five Rochester high schools increased their eighth-grade passing rates on the 2006 State math exam.
  
  
• Rochester’s schools had the largest passing-rate increase on the 2006 State ELA exam among the State’s five largest districts (grades 3-8).
  
  
• Most Rochester schools are improving academically, and others are beginning to make progress.

ELA and Math

Rochester’s performance in English language arts and mathematics for grades 8 is comparable to or better than that of the State’s other large urban districts.
Rochester’s passing rate on the ELA exam for grade 8 increased by eight percentage points in 2006, the largest increase among the State’s five largest districts:

Rochester outperformed Syracuse and Buffalo in the collective performance of grades 3-8 in ELA in 2006, the first year that students in all of those gradeswere required to take State exams:

On the 2006 math exam for grade 8, Rochester was the only district among the State’s five largest in which the passing rate increased:

Rochester also outperformed Buffalo and Syracuse on the 2006 math exam for grades 3-6:

“There is no denying that we need to dramatically improve the percentages of students passing these exams,” said Superintendent of Schools Dr. Manuel J. Rivera. “We have not shied away from this challenge. In fact, in my recommended budget for 2007-08, we continue to focus our resources on programs that are making a positive difference and to invest in creative, new initiatives to keep student engaged in school and on track toward graduation.”

High School Achievement
         More Rochester high school students are earning Regents and Advanced Regents diplomas:

2003-2004	2005-2006
28%	49%

Also, more Rochester high school students are taking Advanced Placement (AP) courses and participating in college partnership programs.

Drop-Out Rate
Since 2002-03, Rochester has seen a decrease of 1.4% in its dropout rate:

Graduation Rate
Rochester remains behind the other large urban districts in its graduation rate, although all are well behind the goal of 100% graduation:

Although the State Education Department’s data (above) reflects only those students who graduated in June of 2005, an additional 4% of Rochester students graduated in August of 2005 after completing summer programs.

With those students included, the actual percentage of Rochester graduates in 2005 is 56%.
“Increasing our graduation rate remains one of our greatest challenges,” Rivera said. “Our high school redesign plan, begun in 2004, takes bold steps to change the high school environment so that we are better meeting the needs of our students and helping them realize that college is a realistic goal.”
The high school redesign plan includes:

• Continuing to redesign high schools into smaller, more focused learning environments.
  
  
• Establishing additional partnerships between high schools and colleges/universities to offer new opportunities for students and to create a bridge between high school and higher education.
  
  
• Offering more time for learning, including extended-day programs and summer sessions.
  
  
• Expanding the District’s small class size initiative to high schools.
  
  
• Modernizing school buildings to provide students with state-of-the-art learning environments.