Led by the seventh consecutive year of gains among African-American and special education students, Anne Arundel County Public Schools saw a 1.08 percentage point increase in its graduation rate and surpassed the state’s four-year graduation rate for the Class of 2016, according to data released by the Maryland State Department of Education today.
The graduation rate for African-American students rose 0.9 percentage points from the prior year to 86.8 percent, the highest since the state began calculating graduation rates by four-year cohorts seven years ago. It has risen 10.5 percentage points in that period, the largest gain of any AACPS racial or ethnic student group.
The graduation rate for special education students rose 5.4 percentage points to 65.9 percent. It has risen 19.2 percentage points over the last seven years. That is the largest gain of any AACPS student group in that span.
As a system, AACPS posted a graduation rate of 89.08 percent, nearly 1.5 percentage points higher than the state average. In the last seven years, AACPS’ graduation rate has risen 6.3 percentage points.
Nowhere was the news more celebrated than at Glen Burnie High School, where the graduation rate rose 8.5 percentage points – more than three times any other school in the county – to 88.8 percent. Over the last seven years, Glen Burnie’s four-year graduation rate has risen 15.3 percentage points, more than any other school in the county.
“I say it every day, but I am so incredibly proud to work with a staff dedicated to meeting and overcoming challenges encountered by our students and helping them grow to realize their potential,” Glen Burnie High School Principal Vickie Plitt said. “The increase we see in the data released today is the result of untold hours of work and commitment among staff, students, parents, and our community. They all deserve credit for these gains.”
A four-year graduation rate is measured by the percentage of students who receive diplomas four years after entering high school. Eight of the county’s 13 high schools have graduation rates of 90 percent or higher. Chesapeake Science Point posted a 100 percent rate, followed by Severna Park (94.9), South River (94.3), Broadneck (93.9), Arundel (93.8), Southern (93.4) and Old Mill (93.3). Chesapeake High School’s graduation rate increased 2.2 percentage points, putting the school over the 90 percent mark for the first time at 90.9.
“This data reflects the extraordinary lengths every member of our AACPS family goes to in order to help our students earn their high school diplomas,” Superintendent George Arlotto said. “There is no question that we must continue this progress until we get every student from his or her freshman year to the graduation stage. We are working tirelessly to reach that goal.”
Over the last seven years, the school system has also seen significant increases in graduation rates for students receiving free and reduced-price meals (up 11.4 percentage points) and Hispanic students (up 7.1 percentage points).
More information on graduation rates can be found in the attachment below and at www.mdreportcard.org.
AACPS 2016 Graduation Rate (4-Year Cohort)