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OKCPS presents lagging data on dropouts, shows sharp decline in college remediation rates
Summary
Oklahoma City Public Schools officials presented 2022–23 dropout and college remediation data, outlined causes that can inflate dropout counts, and described new systems for earlier identification and recovery efforts.
Jason Galloway, Chief of Staff for Oklahoma City Public Schools, told the board on Feb. 10 that the district’s most recent available data (school year 2022–23) show an 8.4% dropout rate and a college remediation rate of 17.3%.
Galloway said the dropout figure reflects a 32% increase compared with the 2019–20 school year and cautioned the board that the data are “lagging” because of the time needed to collect and validate statewide records. “A school dropout is a student under the age of 19 who has not graduated from high school and is not attending a public or private high school or not otherwise receiving an education as a full time student,” Galloway said.
The district framed the numbers as the product of multiple, interlocking systems that affect counts and outcomes. A major source of over-counting, officials said, is incomplete transfer and withdrawal documentation: students who move out of state or enroll in non‑Oklahoma systems, or whose families begin homeschooling without filing required paperwork, can be counted as dropouts because Oklahoma’s student information system does not track enrollments outside the state. Galloway told the board the state’s data cycle typically runs 14–18 months behind the school year reported.
Verna Martin, a district staff member working on accountability systems, outlined a multi-pronged approach OKCPS is rolling out to reduce dropouts and remediation. She described steps that include timely accounting of early‑semester absences and withdrawal documentation, routine “graduation checks” to spot students who are falling off track, expanded daytime credit recovery and bridge‑to‑graduation programs, and a new OKCPS dashboard intended to surface real‑time KPI information for site leaders.
Martin said the district also is strengthening “connectedness” through PBIS, extracurricular engagement and adult‑student relationships to reduce the risk that students disengage. She described monthly student success teams at each high school and postsecondary summits that align middle and high school counseling on college and career options.
Board members pressed for detail on alternative schools, which district staff said have dropout rates several times higher than traditional settings. Galloway and Martin said that students entering alternative programs typically arrive already at elevated risk and that OKCPS is reviewing whether alternative programs’ structure meets those students’ needs. "It really takes a complex system to possibly impact the data in the ways that we want to see it," Galloway told the board.
The presentation contained no formal motions. Staff said more up‑to‑date NWEA results and other performance data will be brought to cabinet and then to the board in a follow‑up work session later in the month.
Looking ahead, district staff said they will continue refining early‑warning systems, pursue improved documentation of withdrawals and transfers, and monitor whether changes in college admissions requirements affect remediation metrics over time.
