“In terms of the long-term economic viability of families, I find these numbers terrifying,” said Vivian Cox Fraser, the CEO of the Urban League of Essex County.  The data “just screams out for the need for more support for children throughout their whole academic career.” 

Cox Fraser is referring to news just out that “the vast majority of Newark don’t get college degrees.” Some schools are in the single digits: for the class of 2016, only 5.9% of graduates from Barringer Steam were able to attain a college diploma within six years. Other schools at the bottom—all under 7% college completion rates—include Weequahic (7.1%), Malcolm X. Shabazz (6.4%), and Newark Vocational High School (6.3%).

But some schools boast successful college readiness and diploma attainment, specifically district magnet schools, where prospective students undergo a selective admissions process, and some of the city’s public charter schools.

For instance, in order for a student to be considered for a seat at Science Park, they must get a grade of 4 (meets expectation) or 5 (exceeds expectations) on the state standardized tests in reading and math; have top grades in 7th and 8th grade; pass an admissions test; and have a low level of absenteeism. The other high-achieving sector is public charter schools, which take all applicants (using a weighted lottery that prioritizes educationally-disadvantaged, homeless, and special education students, as well as English Language Learners).

According to Tapinto, the top two public schools in the city for college completion are Science Park, a district magnet school, and North Star Academy, a charter that is part of the Uncommon Schools network. Fifty-seven percent of Science Park alumni get a college diploma within six years; at North Star it’s 53%. The other schools with college graduation rates of over 30% are Bard Early College (magnet), University HIgh (magnet), Arts (magnet), and TEAM Academy (charter).

The state database shows at Barringer, the district’s lowest-performing school (ranked by college completion rates), 10% of students read proficiently and less than 10% of students do math proficiently. (The state redacts data when the percentage is lower than 10%.) Yet almost 80% of students take the SAT or ACT (college admissions tests), an indication that they do indeed want to earn a college diploma. If the average class size is about 400 students, then of that class only 23 students finished college.

When Tapinto’s Therese Jacob asked the district for comment, “a spokeswoman for Newark Board of Education would not make the superintendent available for an interview and responded instead by referring to the district’s high school graduation rate.” Yet that’s a deflection: last year the State Board of Education approved a change to the definition of a New Jersey high school diploma: it no longer signifies “college and career ready” but “high school graduation ready.”

Last year superintendent Roger Leon claimed he was ready “to build a new educational ecosystem that delivers a worldclass education to every child in the City of Newark.” 

Here is the list of Newark public high schools’ college completion rates: