State's Four-Year Graduation Rate Improves For 9th Year In A Row

BOSTON (CBS) -- For the ninth consecutive year, the four-year graduation rate in Massachusetts improved, according to data released Thursday.

The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education said that 87.3 percent of students entering high school in 2011-12 graduated within four years. The annual dropout rate went down to 1.9 percent, marking the lowest overall rate in over thirty years.

"If you go back less than a decade, over 11,000 students dropped out of high school in a year," said Massachusetts Education Commissioner Mitchell Chester. "With this latest release, we've cut that by more than half."

In addition, the department said the graduation rate among Hispanic students was over 70 percent for the first time, and the rate for black females passed 80 percent. The rate of graduation in urban districts also crossed the 75 percent mark.

Gov. Charlie Baker said he was pleased to see higher graduation rates across the state, and that these improvements represented great progress.

"Our administration is focused on offering a quality education to every student regardless of their ZIP code and will keep offering students strong opportunities after high school in postsecondary education and the workforce," said Gov. Baker.

The department noted that, among the state's urban school districts, Boston, Springfield, Lawrence, New Bedford, and Worcester made the highest gains in dropout reduction over the last five years. Leominster, Cambridge, Salem, Taunton, Quincy, Worcester, and Lowell had annual dropout rates below the statewide rate of 1.9 percent; Cambridge, Leominster, Quincy, and Salem had graduation rates above the statewide rate of 87.3 percent.

Chester said there's still work to be done.

"A high school diploma is a necessary, although increasingly insufficient, credential that our students need as they move on to life after high school," said Chester. "Our work now is to ensure that the high school diploma represents readiness for college, a career and participation in civic life."

He said emotional and social development should be the next area of focus, as they are important to success after high school.

"We have too many students who graduate from high school, but are not prepared for success after high school," said Chester.

WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Karen Twomey reports