Subgroups for foster care, military connected, and EMC students added

Lansing – More Michigan students graduated from high school last year, according to data released today by the Michigan Center for Educational Performance and Information (CEPI).

The 2017-18 school year graduation rate increased slightly to 80.64 percent, up 0.46 percent from 80.18 percent in 2016-17. The dropout rate increased slightly to 8.73 percent for the 2017-18 school year, up 0.08 percent from the 2016-17 rate of 8.65 percent.

Four of the 10 school districts with the most high school students in the cohort class of 2018 (1,162 to 3,828 students) improved their graduation rates. In order of class size, their rates are:

• Detroit Public Schools Community District: 77.27 percent;
• Utica Community Schools: 92.92 percent;
• Plymouth-Canton Community Schools: 90.37 percent;
• Dearborn City School District: 94.70 percent;
• Chippewa Valley Schools: 91.91 percent;
• Ann Arbor Public Schools: 89.48 percent;
• Rochester Community School District: 96.81 percent;
• Warren Consolidated Schools: 81.83 percent;
• Walled Lake Consolidated Schools: 92.17 percent; and
• Livonia Public School District: 92.60 percent.

Below is the statewide four-year trend for on-time, four-year graduation and dropout rates:

New demographic subgroups for foster care, military connected, and Early Middle College students were added this year. Other user-selected settings permit exploring 4-year, 5-year, and 6-year graduation rates by gender, race or ethnicity, or by demographic categories such as economically disadvantaged, English language learners, homeless, migrant, and students with disabilities.

“Adding these new demographic subgroups provides the ability to review and better understand how all Michigan students are progressing through their education” said CEPI Executive Director Tom Howell. “Having this additional context to our graduation and dropout rates will help us evaluate and better work toward equity for our children.”

CEPI calculates graduation rates by tracking enrollment records of individual students from the time they first enroll as ninth-graders. This method, along with concerted efforts by CEPI, school administrators and intermediate school district auditors, accounts for every student.

Four-year “on-time” graduation rates are a school accountability measure adopted by the state, and the methodology for calculating rates is aligned with the National Governors Association Graduation Counts Compact.

CEPI also reports graduation rates for students who remain in high school five and six years. Both the 5-year and 6-year graduation rates are relatively unchanged at 83.22 percent and 83.45 percent respectively.

“Greater learning and higher achievement by Michigan students will help us become a Top 10 education state in 10 years,” said Interim State Superintendent Sheila Alles. “Getting more students through high school and on to a postsecondary program will help us reach Governor Whitmer’s goal of 60 percent of Michigan residents with a postsecondary credential by the year 2030. We are heading in a positive direction.”

Graduation and dropout rates can be found on CEPI’s MI School Data website (www.mischooldata.org). Under the site’s K-12th Grade Student Counts section, visitors can select a school or district or compare one district to another.

CEPI is a division of the State Budget Office. It facilitates the collection, management and reporting of public education data required by state and federal law. MI School Data is Michigan's official education data portal to help citizens, educators and policymakers make informed decisions that can lead to improved success for our students.

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