Led by widespread decreases in gaps between student groups and dramatic increases in rates for students with disabilities, multilingual learners, and African American and Hispanic students, the graduation rate for students in Anne Arundel County Public Schools' Class of 2024 rose by nearly one full percentage point compared to the previous year, data released today by the Maryland State Department of Education shows.
The graduation rate for students with disabilities rose 6.79 percentage points, more than any other student group. The rate for multilingual learners was up 4.94 percentage points, followed improvements for economically disadvantaged students (3.04 percentage points) and students receiving free and reduced-price meals (2.74 percentage points).
The increases of 2.52 percentage points for African American students and 2.41 percentage points for Hispanic students further narrowed gaps between those students and their peers. The graduation rate for students of two or more races increased by 0.67 percentage points.
Six high schools showed rate increases of more than 2 percentage points. North County showed the greatest gain in the county with a 6.61 percentage point increase, followed by Annapolis (4.44 percentage points), Meade (3.16 percentage points), South River (2.93 percentage points), Chesapeake (2.56 percentage points), and Northeast (2.10 percentage points).
The increases in graduation rates are the latest in a string of improvements for the school district. AACPS posted the largest gains in the Baltimore region in both English Language Arts and Math in the most recent administration of the Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program (MCAP) administration. Advanced Placement enrollment and average exam scores have also increased, and the number of students dually enrolled in AACPS and Anne Arundel Community College courses has more than doubled in the last two years.
“There is more work to be done to get where we want to go, but these gains are very, very significant and they build on numerous other gains we have seen in things like MCAP and Advanced Placement scores as well as PSAT enrollment,” Superintendent of Schools Dr. Mark Bedell said. “This data is evidence that the work we have put into efforts like Project Graduation and our intense focus on helping every single student get what they need to Belong, Grow, and Succeed are paying off. I am enormously proud of our entire AACPS family for their work in earning these results.”
The county’s overall four-year cohort graduation rate, a measure of the percentage of students who graduated four years after entering high school – was 88.54 percent for the Class of 2024. That is nearly one full percentage point above the state average.
Project Graduation, launched two years ago, provides open-ended, student-centered, credit recovery options such as digital learning centers and creates more opportunities for second-chance learning. The initiative focuses on individual needs of students in grades 9 through 12 by bringing together central office leadership, high school leadership teams, counselors, and teachers to proactively assess student progress toward on-time graduation and to provide real-time interventions and supports as necessary. Particular attention is being focused on those schools with the lowest graduation rates.
In all, 11 of the county’s 15 comprehensive high schools – Chesapeake Science Point (100.00), Severna Park (98.10), South River (97.82), Broadneck (96.85), Crofton (96.22), Arundel (95.66), Virtual Academy (95.00), Chesapeake (93.84), Southern (92.62), Northeast (92.48), and Old Mill (91.35) – have graduation rates higher than 90 percent. No comprehensive high school has a graduation rate lower than 81.59 percent.
In addition to Project Graduation, Dr. Bedell has instituted a new school supervision structure to help improve student achievement. In addition to the geographical grouping of schools by clusters, schools are now leveled in networks. This supervision structure, under which middle and high school principals meet and engage in professional development and joint problem-solving, allows for deeper collaboration to address student needs.
“This work reflects exactly what our community expects: that we close gaps while continuing to increase scores and rates across the board,” Dr. Bedell said. “We will celebrate the results of this work with the realization that much more work lies ahead of us. I am confident, however, that we will be seeing more positive results as we move forward.”
More information on AACPS' four-year graduation rates can be found by clicking here.
Statewide information can be found online here.