Graduation rates for St. Mary's Co. public schools vs the state of Maryland overall.LEONARDTOWN, Md. (Feb. 17, 2016)—St. Mary's County Public Schools (SMCPS) high school students are graduating at a record high rate, according to newly released data from the Maryland State Department of Education.
The four-year cohort graduation rate continued to climb this past year as 94.26 percent of the class of 2015—students who entered school in the fall of 2011—graduated on time. The new rate represents an increase of 11.6 percentage points over six years. At the same time, the four-year cohort dropout rate fell from 10.98 percent in 2010 to 4.13 percent in 2015. Both measures outpace the Maryland State Average.
"This new bar has been set by our staff working relentlessly with our students," said J. Scott Smith, Superintendent of Schools. "It shows what a committed community of educators can do when supported by a system built on success for all."
High school graduation numbers are calculated in what is commonly called the "cohort rate." The four-year adjusted cohort rate is the number of students who graduate with a regular high school diploma divided by the number of students who form the adjusted cohort for the graduating class. For any given cohort, students who are entering 9th grade for the first time from a cohort that is later "adjusted" by adding students who transfer in during the succeeding years, and subtracting those who transfer out.
Overall SMCPS Progress:
• SMCPS has the highest recorded on-time graduation.
• SMCPS has increased the graduation rate by 11.6 percentage points in the past six years.
• SMCPS outpaces the Maryland Average by over 7 percentage points and the Nation by 13.
• SMCPS dropout rate for SMCPS has decreased by 6.85 percentage points over six years.
Graduation rates for all demographic groups have improved as well.
• 88.99% of African American students graduated on time, an increase of 16.3 percentage points over six years.
• 94.29% of Hispanic/Latino students graduated on time, an increase of 10.51 percentage points over six years.
• Over 95% of White/Caucasian students graduated on time, an increase of 11 percentage points over six years.
• The graduation rate for economically disadvantaged students has increased 16.7 percentage points over six years.
• The graduation rate for special education students has increased 20.93 percentage points over six years.
The latest graduation data is now available on Maryland's Report Card website, www.MdReportCard.org. A video tutorial on the cohort graduation rate is available at http://mdk12.org/data/AYP/GradRateTutorials/GradRate_a.html