St. Mary’s Schools May Break 90% Graduation Rate

As reported by Gazette.net, St. Mary’s County may top a 90% graduation rate this year.  The county’s three public high schools have been flirting with the 90 percent bar for several years, but have yet to officially surpass the goal, which is set as a minimum standard by the Maryland State Department of Education, the Gazette describes,

The 2013 St. Mary’s high school graduating class met “the holy grail” by topping 90 percent graduation rate, Superintendent Michael Martirano said this week.

Martirano said this week that preliminary numbers put the county at a 90.3 percent graduation rate when counting students who finished high school within four years and graduated last spring. “This is the highest rate ever,” he said.

The Maryland State Education Department (MSDE) last week released other data related to graduation, including a five-year rate for the class of 2012. That takes into account any students who spent an extra year to finish high school. St. Mary’s public schools’ five-year rate was 89.3 percent that year.

As reported by MSDE, the five-year cohort graduation rate – those students completing their diploma in five years – improved from 84.57 to 86.32 percent. The MSDE Maryland Report Card website allows one to type in the name of any high school in the state for specific data, including the following:

Accountability

  • School Progress
  • School Progress Index

Assessments

  • High School Assessment
  • MSA Algebra, Biology, English
  • MSA Grades 3-8
  • Alt-MSA

Demographics

  • Attendance
  • Enrollment
  • Highly Qualified Teacher Data
  • Student Mobility
  • Students Receiving Special Services

Graduation

  • 5-Yr Adj. Cohort Graduation Rate

For more information, see the full story from Gazette.net. and the MSDE 2013 Maryland Report Card.