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Tribune Editorial: Minority graduation rates are up in Utah, but not enough

Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune Utah Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox speaks at Water Canyon High School's graduation ceremony in Hildale, Monday May 22, 2017. Two years ago the school had one graduate, this year twenty-five.

There is good news, and there is bad news. The good news is that Utah high school graduation rates increased to 86 percent this year, largely fueled by increased rates among minority students. In fact, over the last five years, graduation rates have increased 5 percent.

The bad news is that there is still a gap between graduation rates for white students and minority students. In other words, it is more likely that a white student will graduate than a minority student. That’s not good enough.

A report was released earlier this year showing a school discipline enforcement disparity between races and ethnicities. For instance, Hispanic students were expelled twice as often as white students. Such disparity could account for some of the gap in graduation rates. If they aren’t in school, they can’t graduate. That’s why efforts to increase in-school detention and recognition of implicit biases in student discipline could make a difference in improving graduation rates among minority students.

For the increased graduation rates, though, we have teachers, administrators and parents to thank. And maybe George W. Bush. The No Child Left Behind Act, passed in 2001 with bipartisan support, highlighted the need for better tracking and reporting of student metrics like graduation rates, broken down in such a way that success among white students didn’t mask lower graduation rates among minorities. It also created an environment of accountability among school systems across the nation.

Utah’s population is changing. Census estimates in June revealed that Utah’s minority populations are growing faster than its white population. Pam Perlich, director of demographic research at the University of Utah’s Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute, noted that the state’s shift will likely result in “a mixed-heritage, multicultural tapestry of people and cultures.”

Since 2010, the minority population has grown 20.3 percent while the white population has grown 8 percent. The older, whiter, generation is dying off, making way for younger generations, which are more diverse. As of July 1, 2016, one of every five residents of Utah is a minority.

Of the estimated census data, Perlich said in June, “It’s evidence that great demographic transformation of Utah continues to unfold year by year…. If we do the math, we can see how Utah will continue to become more diverse. These trends are cumulative, ongoing and irreversible.”

So while it is important that we celebrate the improvements in graduation rates across the state, we cannot let such improvements mask the concern for lower rates among our minority populations. Because our minority populations may some day be our majority populations.

We must continue to focus efforts on these historically under-served students to ensure their continued success.