The graduation rate of Anne Arundel County Public Schools students surpassed 90 percent for the first time with the Class of 2021 and six student groups posted the highest rates ever, data now available from the Maryland State Department of Education shows.
The school system’s four-year cohort graduation rate – a measure of the percentage of students who graduated four years after entering high school – is 90.25 percent, 1.36 percentage points higher than the previous year. It marks the third straight year of increases in graduation rate for the system as a whole.
Since 2011, when the four-year cohort rate began being calculated, AACPS’ graduation rate has risen by 6.52 percentage points and the school system has seen rate increases in every student category. The increase in graduation rate for special education students – 22.4 percentage points – is the highest in the system over that time. Significant increases have also been seen for students receiving free and reduced-price meals (14.16 points), African-American students (9.84 points), English Language Learners (7.73 points), and Hispanic students (7.48 points).
Additionally, the gap in graduation rate between African-American students and their White classmates has narrowed by 33 percent over that time to 5.52 points.
The 2021 data released by MSDE also shows all-time high graduation rates for six student groups: Hispanic/Latino (81.26 percent), White (93.16 percent), English Language Learners (60.82 percent), student receiving free and reduced-price meals (84.58 percent), students with Section 504 accommodations (90.4 percent), and Military Connected students (97.73 percent). The rates for English Language Learners and Military Connected students climbed by 10.96 and 10.69 percentage points, respectively, while the rate for Hispanic/Latino students rose by 8.02 percentage points.
“This data is an example of the tremendous lengths to which our teachers, staff, students, and families went throughout the pandemic to help ensure that our students remained on track for their diplomas,” Superintendent George Arlotto said. “I could not be more proud of the efforts of our entire team.”
Nine of the county’s 13 high schools now have graduation rates above 90 percent. They include Glen Burnie High School, which cleared the mark due to a 2.2 percentage point increase over the prior year. Since 2011, the graduation rate at Glen Burnie has risen by 16.18 percentage points, 6.5 points more than any other high school over that time period.
Two other high schools – Arundel and Northeast – posted their highest graduation rate ever and Old Mill High School had its highest graduation rate in six years.
More information on graduation rates can be found by clicking the link below.
AACPS Graduation Rate, Class of 2021 and 2011-2021 Trend Data