The demographics of the students in a Croydon school system also mirror the demographics of the national educational system in many ways. While the national average for the percentage of people who are considered “at least somewhat college-educated” has been on the decline for several years, the percentage of high school dropouts has been on the rise. Some think this drop in college attendance may be due to the fact that some families are sending their children to traditional public schools that are not accepting the increasing numbers of single parent families. Many parents are electing to send their children to a private high school so that they can obtain a better education for less money.
For many families, the question of whether Croydon schools should have a higher education option available to them has become an issue of great importance. Because the Croydon school board is under a mandate from the county council of Henley-Voltshire, which governs the school district, the debate about whether a public high school is the right choice for their children has boiled down to a simple question of cost and effectiveness. If the schools are deemed to be ineffective or costly, then they must close. If they are deemed to be effective, then parents will be able to send their children to them. If they are found to be both effective and cost effective, then parents will have several different options to choose from.
Statistics regarding the achievement of children in secondary school indicate an increase in reading scores, but these changes seem to be fairly recent. In the past, in the same district, approximately eighty-five percent of elementary students tested by kindergarten age were tested in the proficient range for reading; this is up from seventy-five percent in the last elementary school systemwide test. And, in the same district, twenty-three percent of middle school students were tested in the advanced range for mathematics; up from seventeen percent in the last elementary school systemwide test. However, the percentages vary somewhat by testing date, age, and subject matter.
