The Rochester City School District’s four-year graduation rate for Cohort 2016 was 68.2% as of August 2020, according to data released today by the New York State Education Department. This number reflects a 5.2 percentage point increase from 2019, which shows the District is continuing on the right trajectory to help more students graduate, even during a senior year complicated by learning in a remote learning environment while also dealing with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
These results show a steady increase in graduation rates. In addition, more than 80% of RCSD high schools showed increased graduation rates compared to August 2019. Subgroup data of note:
- 8.1 percentage point increase for English Language Learners, from 42.6% to 50.7%
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7.1 percentage point increase for Black students, from 62.6% to 69.7%
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5.8 percentage point increase for Economically Disadvantaged students, from 59.8% to 65.6%
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4.0 percentage point increase for Hispanic students, from 62.6% to 66.6%
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0.9 percentage point increase for Students with Disabilities, from 47.0% to 47.9%
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3.9 percentage point decrease in Dropouts, from 16.8% to 12.9%
“Our students endured an unprecedented school year that no one could have expected, and the increase in our graduation rate is due to the collective work of students, families, staff, teachers, and administrators,” said Superintendent Lesli Myers-Small, Ed.D. “The data points us toward key information, highlighting areas that require attention and focus to better educate our scholars and ensure their programmatic needs are being met. Increasing the graduation rate remains our focus, with a strategic plan that prioritizes the purposeful use of data to help improve academic success through student-centered learning while closing the achievement gap of our students with disabilities, economically disadvantaged students, and English language learners.”
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