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Board reviews dropout corrections, graduation rate and plans to expand ACT prep
Summary
Tahlequah Public Schools reviewed a corrected 2025 cohort dropout count and reported a 92.7% graduation rate for the Class of 2024; the district is expanding ACT prep for juniors and tracking college remediation rates for recent graduates.
During its Sept. 18 meeting, the Tahlequah Public Schools Board of Education received detailed reports on dropout counts, graduation rates and college remediation and discussed district steps to improve college readiness.
Dropout and graduation figures: staff reported 33 initial dropouts in the 2025 cohort, with subsequent corrections — including 11 students for whom records requests were received from other districts and seven students who provided evidence of passing a GED — reducing the final reported dropout count to 15. Using the full cohort denominator of 1,336, staff presented a raw dropout rate of 2.47%; excluding certain students produced a rate of 1.64%, and counting GED completions reduced the rate to 1.12% for the 2025 cohort.
Graduation outcomes: staff reported 328 seniors enrolled in the most recent year, 304 graduates from Tahlequah High School, and a reported graduation rate of 92.7% for that year. The presentation noted 10 transfers to other schools, two students who did not meet graduation requirements and two enrolled in GED classes with unknown current status.
College remediation and ACT prep: the board reviewed college remediation rates from a 2023 cohort that staff presented: 4.7% in English remediation, 18.8% in math remediation and 4.7% in another remediation category reported in the presentation. To address preparedness, the district has started an ACT prep class for juniors (approximately 19 students enrolled) and is encouraging ACT-style formative assessments across grade-level instruction. Staff said the district will administer the ACT to juniors in October and expects the ACT to make the science section optional in a future test cycle.
Program implementation: staff identified teacher leaders (Mister Underwood and Mister Pack) to deliver math-focused ACT instruction and noted one instructor is “AIM certified” through ACT training. Trustees discussed giving earlier ACT-style assessments to freshmen in the future to better track student growth and target interventions.
Why it matters: trustees said tracking post-graduation remediation provides a clearer measure of district effectiveness once students leave the district and enables targeted interventions for students planning to attend college.
