Why Is West Orange High's Graduation Rate Lower Than N.J. Average?

West Orange, NJ – Why are West Orange high school students apparently graduating at a rate nearly four percentage points below the state average?

In February, the NJ Department of Education released the 2015 graduation rates for schools across the state.

According to DOE statistics, the state average was 89.7 percent; West Orange tallied 85.94 percent.

• See related article: West Orange High School Graduation Rate: DOE Releases 2015 Totals

However, there may be a reason why West Orange’s graduation rate is below the state average, Superintendent Jeffrey Rutzky explained during a Board of Education meeting in late February.

“We had a very large number of students that moved into the high school at the latter part of their school career,” he said. “Kids that moved in were behind on credits because West Orange has a higher requirement of credits than many districts around us. Kids might have missed things that give credits and may not graduate because they didn’t qualify to do so, and that reflects on our graduation rate.”

In addition, West Orange’s special education program - which allows students to continue learning from the age of 18-21, rather than the regular four-year graduation period - was another reason for the low graduation rates, Rutzky stated.

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