[KHTS] – Hart district students garnered a 95 percent graduation rate for the class of 2014, according to state data released Thursday, and more than half completed the required coursework set forth by the UC/CSU system.

However, the data also show most Hart district students headed to COC aren’t placing into college-transferable courses for English and math, according to figures obtained from COC.

From the class of ‘14 students who took placement exams at College of the Canyons — the largest single feeder college for the SCV’s approximately 22,000 junior high and high school students in the William S. Hart Union High School District — only 25 percent tested into math coursework transferable for college credit, while only 22 percent of students tested into English coursework transferable for college credit.

The state’s data also indicate more than half of all Hart district students, 52.6 percent of 2014 grads, are graduating with CSU/UC requirements met (the state and county averages are 41.9 percent and 42.4 percent, respectively).

The figures, at least in part, reflect what many in academic circles have known about and been working to address for some time: There’s a disconnect between what students need to know to graduate high school, and what they need to know to excel in college.

The numbers are being addressed by both districts — the Santa Clarita Community College and the William S. Hart Union High School. And officials have been working cooperatively on curriculum alignment for several years.

“We’re trying to to work together to link more closely with what’s happening between us and COC,” said Mike Kuhlman, noting the most recent growth in that area has been an effort led by CTE Administrator Mariane Doyle, and focused on improving career paths for students.

“There’s been a 10-fold increase in the articulation between (COC and the Hart district),” Kuhlman said.

COC officials have been evaluating not only the placement based on exams, but how incoming students are evaluated and how the districts can work cooperatively to provide the best outcomes for students, said Eric Harnish, spokesman for COC.

The ongoing problem is certainly not unique to the COC and Hart districts, said Barry Gribbons, vice president of instructional development and technology for COC.

“It’s something we’re seeing across the state and the country,”Gribbons said. “It’s been (an issue) for more than 10 years, and not just with COC and the Hart district, but nationwide.”

For future COC students after 2014, the data is expected to be different for a number of reasons.

The Hart district has added an additional year of math to its graduation standards, meaning whereas before students had to take just two years of math, starting with the class of 2018, they now must take three years of math to graduate.

There are also new criteria being looked out that could change how entrance scores are evaluated, in a more “weighted” fashion, considering other factors such as the courses the student took, in conjunction with their GPA.

“We have a group of English and math faculty that have been meeting together (with Hart district faculty) for a number of years,” Harnish said. “And they’ve been meeting to develop a better understanding of the curriculum at both levels, and how we can seamlessly develop a pathway.”

The most recent data available for the placement of Hart district students, according to COC officials:

Math                 2012             2013         2014

Transferable         18%             21%             25%
Not Transferable  82%             79%             75%

English                 2012           2013         2014

Transferable             20%             21%         22%
Not Transferable     80%             79%         78%

The numbers show slight improvement over a report from 2006-08:

Math 2008

(only 2008 data available)

Transferable                 16%
Not Transferable         84%

English                   2006            2007     2008

Transferable             16%                 13%         16%
Not Transferable     84%                 87%         84%

The test COC uses to evaluate incoming students for course placement is known as the Accuplacer, which is probably the most commonly used of such entrance exams.

Results available on the state’s Department of Education website reports that of 3,788 seniors in the class of 2014, 3,608 graduated on time with their classmates in a four-year cohort (meaning the students attended a Hart district school for all four years, according to state officials.

The graduation rate for William S. Hart Union High School District students remains significantly higher than the 80.8 percent of public school students who graduate with their class statewide.

The statewide graduation rates for most student groups also rose in 2014, according to the state’s data made available by the California Department of Education.