The reality of education in the city of Grand Rapids is unacceptable. Low achievement rates, high drop-out rates, and low college attendance rates have created a crisis.
Low Achievement Rates
- According to a study of Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP) data studied by the independent consulting firm Standard and Poor's, "Grand Rapids' performance is among the lowest in the state." (Standard and Poor's report, 2007)
- Over two-thirds of GRPS high school students do not meet statewide standards in Math, Science, or Writing, and over half of GRPS students fail to meet standards in Reading and Social Studies (Center for Educational Performance and Information, Michigan Department of Education, 2007 data)
- When this data is compared with others in the state, Grand Rapids performs no better than Detroit.
High Dropout Rates
- In 2005-06, only 68 percent of GRPS students graduated at the end of 12th grade. (Center for Educational Performance and Information, Michigan Department of Education).
- According to the 2000 Census, 34 percent of 18-24 year old males living in the City of Grand Rapids have no high school diploma or GED.
- A study by Johns Hopkins University comparing freshmen who entered high school to the number of seniors who graduated four years later identified four GRPS high schools as "dropout factories." In one of those schools, the study showed that only 25% of incoming freshmen graduated four years later.
Low College Attendance
- According to the 2006 American Community Survey by the U.S. Census Bureau, less than 14% of 18-24 year old males in the City of Grand Rapids have obtained an Associates degree or higher. For females, it's 7%.
- Only 13% of students attending Grand Rapids Community College graduate within three years.
- GRPS does not have a mechanism for collecting district-wide data on college attendance, so tracking students who do graduate is very difficult.
This crisis has not occurred in a vacuum:
- GRPS is the third largest district in the state, even though a large percentage of the community's school-age children are not enrolled in the district.
- Three-quarters of the district's students have been identified as economically disadvantaged - nearly the highest concentration of any district in the state.
- One-fourth of the students enrolled in the district have been identified as having disabilities, due in part to the enrollment of out-of-district students in Grand Rapids' regional special education programs.
- One-fifth of the district's students are English language learners.
