The School District of Philadelphia’s Office of Research and Evaluation works in partnership with the Philadelphia Education Research Consortium (PERC) to produce a series of focused analyses on the factors that keep SDP high school students “on-track” to graduation. One of its studies found that 9th graders who end the year “on-track” for graduation are more than twice as likely to graduate within four years. A first-time SDP 9th grader is considered “on-track” if they earn at least one credit in each of the four core areas (English, math, science, and social studies), plus one additional credit from any source—informally known as “Four Core and One More.” Students who earn all As and Bs are considered “firmly on-track.”

All School District of Philadelphia schools are part of the 9th Grade On-Track strategy. Through investment and collaboration with other partners such as Philadelphia Academics, Inc., 24 high schools this year will participate in the 9th Grade Success Network and receive a deeper level of hands-on administrator coaching and support to ensure students stay on-track. By 2026, 32 high schools will be in the network. Together, students, teachers, and administrators receive resources to support each other in this collective impact.

• The School District of Philadelphia found in its study that 9th graders who end the year “On-Track” for graduation are more than twice as likely to graduate within four years.¹
• The 9th Grade On-Track strategy has contributed to a 10.2-percentage point increase in the four-year graduation rate in the District over the last seven years.²
• “On-Track” rates have increased at the 20 participating 9GSN schools in 2023-24 by 7.4 percentage points since 2018-19. During the same time frame, the 9GOT rates declined by 2 percentage points at comparable non-participating schools.
• 9GOT rates for Black and Latino young men, within the 9th Grade Success Network of schools, increased by 13.4 percentage points and 9.6 percentage points, from the 2018-19 to 2023-24 school years, respectively. At the same time, comparable non-participating schools saw the “On-Track” rate for Black young men decline by 5.6 percentage points, and the rate for Latino young men improve by 4.2 percentage points during that period.

¹Wills, Theodore. (2024). Ninth Grade On-Track Rates and Their Relationship to On-Time Graduation for First-Time SDP Ninth Graders in 2016-17 through 2018-19. Philadelphia: The School District of Philadelphia Office of Research and Evaluation.
²In 2016-17, the four-year cohort graduation rate in SDP was 66.8%, while the national average exceeded 80%. SDP achieved a four-year graduation rate of 77.5% in 2023-2024.