Colorado graduation rates remain stagnant in 2015

The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education said that 87.3 percent of students entering high school in 2011-12 graduated within four years. The rate previously had seen four consecutive years of growth. Through a partnership with a foundation and a nonprofit group, the district has focused the last couple of years on gathering data points to flag potential red flags with kids in school so intervention was possible before they dropped out, he said. Students considered to have graduated on-time are those who finish high school within four years of completing eighth grade.

The largest gains were made by Hispanic males (up 3.4 percentage points from 64.4 to 67.8 percent), black females (up 3.1 percentage points from 79.2 to 82.3 percent), and Hispanic students overall (up 3 percentage points from 69.2 to 72.2 percent).

“We’ve also found that if there’s a caring adult, just one caring adult, involved in that student’s life, it makes a huge impact and a significant improvement in their academic performance”, Ashby said.

Some districts have had success lowering the drop out rate by focusing their approaches says Judith Martinez with the Colorado Department of Education.

In an attempt to buoy graduation rates and combat permanent dropouts, the state has actively attempted to re-engage students who stop attending school by offering them more time to graduate.

A few school districts, including those in Littleton, Brighton and Englewood, saw drops in the graduation rate from last year’s numbers.

Superintendent Tommy Chang said there’s still more work to do.

The Massachusetts Education Department announced Thursday that four-year high school graduation rates had improved for the ninth year in a row.

The district graduating the most students in the metro area was the Boulder Valley School District with a 92.3 percent graduation rate.

“This is very, very positive for the students in those school districts”, Chester said in a conference call Thursday morning, January 21.

Statewide, graduation rates rose across demographic categories. In Chicopee, Revere, Somerville and Worcester, the graduation rates crossed 80 percent for the first time.

She said the district’s staff is looking at the increase in dropouts and the decrease in completers – students who take an equivalency exam – but pointed out that the test changed and it is more hard for students to pass.