Cumulative (2017-2021) Report on Horizon High School Students From Madison Metropolitan School District
Written By Horizon High School Staff
4 years of data are above.
We would like to share with you some information that highlights the impact Horizon is having upon youth in our community who can benefit from our school. The Madison Metropolitan School District contracts with Horizon High School to serve up to 15 MMSD students at any given time. The MMSD Institutional Research & Evaluation Office provided an analysis of administrative data on the 47 unique MMSD students served from 2017 through spring of 2021.
Across the four school years in the report, Horizon served from 16 to 23 MMSD students each year. The average days enrolled during a school year was 135, ranging from 108 days to 202 days. These data suggest that the average MMSD student attended for over half the school year; the exception was in 2020-21 where the average was 202 days (the entire year). It is not clear how this is calculated since a school year is 180 days, and the calculated maximum days enrolled exceeded this in all years. Perhaps summer school was counted? The reported attendance rate was 96% of days while enrolled. The average GPA earned was 2.70. Horizon students earned 6.84 credits in average year they were enrolled.
Students had many prior suspensions before HHS (569), and very few (8) during and after enrollment at Horizon. All of the ‘during or after HHS enrollment’ were of students during the 2018-19 school year.
Horizon students and staff volunteer every Thanksgiving for the Berbee Derby. Thank you Berbee for your support of Horizon with Technology grants!
Of 52 students who should have graduated high school with their age cohort by the time of the report, 16 (31%) were “direct graduates” of HHS; 16 (31%) went on to graduate after they attended Horizon, for a total graduation rate of 62%.
According to MMSD records, 20 (38%) did not graduate. (These data go back to students who attended HHS in 2014-15 or later.)
Based on all MMSD students with an enrollment at Horizon, 61% were students of color and 39% were white. Nearly two-thirds (64%) were females. The data indicate that 52% were low income--attenuated by only 25% low income in 2020-21 cohort (which Horizon staff report is a significant undercounting error). A quarter of the students (25%) were “English Language Learners” whose home language was not English.
Finally, 71% had a documented disability as measured by existence of an individual education plan--IEP. These data document the difficult educational history and complex socio-demographic background of the Horizon student body. As students in a recovery high school, these students also have experienced significant substance use disorders or are at high risk of SUDs, and have a high prevalence of co-occurring mental health issues. Given this background, the eventual 62% rate of high school graduation is an indicator of success of the Horizon High School program.
