submitted by Erin Clary, Communications Specialist, BCSD
The numbers are in and Berlin High School is seeing improvement in multiple areas including overall rank, SAT scores and graduation rates. According to the 2014 Schools Report published by the Albany Business Review, Berlin High School ranked number 49 out of 85 districts in the 11 county greater Capital Region. This is up from number 65 last year.
The high school scores were calculated using SAT test scores and performance on Regents exams. Other metrics included graduation performance: the percentages of students who graduate, who graduate with advanced Regents diplomas and who plan to attend a two year or four year college after high school.
The high school ranked number 17 in the Capital Region for its SAT scores and four out of 10 for Rensselaer County.
In addition, the high school is seeing improvements in graduation rates. Although the numbers are not yet in for 2014, in 2013 the Berlin High School graduation rate was at 81 percent, up from 78.9 percent in 2012 and 72.2 percent in 2011.
Most notably, the special education graduation rate was 81.8 percent, up from 52.6 percent in 2012 and 35 percent in 2011.
According to Berlin CSD Board of Education President Frank Zwack, the success in recent years is attributable to the collaborative efforts of the faculty, School Board, administrators, community and the students themselves. In addition, new programs like School within a School and Credit Recovery have been successful in helping to graduate more students on time.
“We’ve been moving forward at a fast pace, identifying areas where we can improve,” said Zwack. “I expect that we’ll maintain and improve this momentum to continue to be successful in the future.”