Graduation rates for Indigenous students are nearly 25 per cent lower than what the Department of Education publishes, the Yukon First Nation Education Directorate’s research has found.
“The 2023-24 school year is coming to a close, and graduates are preparing to proudly walk the stage in cap and gown,” the directorate said Tuesday.
“At first glance, looking at the statistics released by Yukon Department of Education, the graduation rates in the territory seem quite good – for both Indigenous and non-Indigenous students – rates comparable to the rest of Canada.
“Upon closer inspection, you will find the numbers are grossly misleading – our kids aren’t graduating at the rates the government says they are, and the problem is getting worse.”
The directorate has employed a team of education and data analysts who have been tasked with analyzing available figures and reporting back findings so First Nations can have a more accurate picture of graduation rates and other education metrics.
The team has discovered that the rates published by the Department of Education “are inaccurate and misleading,” the directorate said.
The team has concluded:
- Graduation rates are much lower for all students, but most dramatically for Indigenous students;
- Graduation rates for all students are declining;
- The Department of Education boosts its numbers by using, in the directorate’s words, “faulty methodology to mislead the public into thinking their graduation rates are acceptable”;
- Over eight years, only 47 per cent of Indigenous students and 73 per cent of non-Indigenous students graduated – and that trend is dropping; and
- The Department of Education’s graduation rates show 71 per cent of Indigenous and 83 per cent of non-Indigenous students graduated over the same eight-year period, and that trend is rising.
“The primary issue with Yukon Department of Education’s methodology is that they artificially inflate the graduation rate by calculating the graduation rate factoring only those students who make it to Grade 12 with the ‘potential to graduate,’” the directorate said.
The potential to graduate means a student has entered Grade 12 with all the required credits from Grades 10 and 11. The directorate calculated their graduation rate relative to all Grade 12 students, not just those with the potential to graduate.
“These percentages would be even lower if Yukon Education department also accounted for those students who dropped out of school before Grade 12, but currently this data is also ignored – and is currently unavailable, despite YFNED requesting it,” the directorate said.
The issue was first identified in 2009 and 2019 Auditor General’s Reports, which pointed out that the Department of Education did not collect enough data nor report back with accuracy or consistency.
The directorate submitted its first data request to the department in April 2021 – 36 specific questions/requests for information – none of which have been answered.
At the department’s request, a data working group was established that has met once or twice a year since 2021. It’s made up of directorate and department representatives, as well as representatives from the First Nations Education Council.
“All Yukon First Nations know that serious problems prevail within the education system that prevent the majority of our students from successfully completing high school,” said Melanie Bennett, the directorate’s executive director.
“Problematically, the Department of Education fails to provide the transparent data that could shine a light on this. By exposing this truth through our own independent analysis, we are holding the department accountable.”
Steered by the Chiefs Committee on Education, the directorate was launched in the summer of 2020 in response to the long-overdue need for unified control over First Nations education in the territory.
The Yukon Star asked the Department of Education for comment on the directorate’s concerns on Tuesday morning. There had been no response as of this afternoon.
