Two Hamilton County suburban school districts had the highest graduation rates among Ohio's 50 largest school districts, while the Cincinnati Public Schools had one of the lowest, according to a study released last week by the Columbus-based Ohio Institute for Public Policy Solutions.

        The study used data from the Class of 2000 and included 10 school districts from Southwest Ohio. With a 100 percent graduation rank as determined by the institute, Oak Hills High School was tied with Centerville for the top spot.

        “There are lots of ways to calculate graduation rates, and we don't know the exact methodology they (the institute) used,” said Gary Wooddell, assistant superintendent of the Oak Hills Schools. “The good news is we look good on all of them.”

        Forest Hills Schools, with two high schools in Anderson Township, tied Beavercreek Schools for second place with a 96 percent graduation rate.

        Meanwhile, the report listed Butler County's Lakota Schools with a 72 percent graduation rate, well below the state average of 91 percent. And Cincinnati Public Schools had a 36 percent rate, which was the second lowest - behind Cleveland.

        The study drew sharp criticism from schools that fared poorly because its method of calculating graduation rates differs from state figures.

        The state shows Oak Hills' graduation rate at 88 percent and Cincinnati schools at 51 percent.

        “We are very disturbed by the report,” said Jan Leslie, director of public affairs for Cincinnati Public Schools. “We're not happy with their graduation rate. We rely on the state for verification of our data.”

        Lakota officials say their graduation rate has exceeded 90 percent for several years.

        One of the authors said the institute's formula - which adjusts graduation rates based on enrollment changes during each graduating class' four years of high school - might skew figures for a few very rapidly growing districts like Lakota, but not for Cincinnati Public Schools, where enrollment is declining.

        “The state tries to be precise and follows each and every student,” said Joshua Hall, director of the institute's Center for Education Excellence and co-author of the study. “We're trying to make estimates. Cincinnati was a main example for our study. They saw a 7.5 percent drop in enrollment. ... It's not plausible they had a 51 percent graduation rate.”

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