The four-year graduation rate for Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) students has risen to 91.4 percent, according to data released by the Maryland State Department of Education. The MCPS graduation rate rose 2.1 percentage points compared with last year, and is higher than the state average of 87.2 percent.

The graduation rate for students identified as Limited English Proficient (LEP) rose 11.6 percent in the Class of 2021 over the previous year and jumped a significant 14.6 percent since the Class of 2019.

The Class of 2021 saw increases in graduation rates for all student groups, with the exception of the cohort of Black or African American students, whose rate remained relatively stable as the previous year experienced a decrease of 0.3 percent. The graduation rate for Hispanic/Latino students rose to 82.5 percent, a one-year increase of 5.4 percentage points.

The numbers are notable, especially during the coronavirus pandemic, as instruction during the  2021 school year was virtual for most students until a hybrid learning model was launched at the beginning of March. 

“The increase in our graduation rate is encouraging,” said Interim Superintendent Monifa B. McKnight. “Our staff has been doing an extraordinary job under very difficult circumstances to help our students overcome significant disruptions and continue to make progress. While we celebrate these gains, we will not be satisfied until all of our students graduate college, career and community ready, and prepared to thrive in their futures.”

The pandemic has highlighted the greater need for wraparound social-emotional supports, including mental health resources, so that students can fully engage in learning throughout their educational career.

“While graduation is the final milestone, the work to support students and address their individual needs begins as they walk into our doors,” said Ruschelle Reuben, Chief of Teaching, Learning, and Schools. “Our mental health supports, including social-emotional lessons and mindfulness practices, combined with our partnership with county agencies, ensure that we are able to meet student and family needs.”

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Highlights of School Performance:

• Albert Einstein High School saw an increase of 9.9 percentage points in the graduation rate from the Class of 2019 to the Class of 2021. Rockville High School had an increase of 8.2 percentage points over the same two-year period.
• Twenty high schools saw a one-year increase in the graduation rate and 10 saw a consecutive increase over two years (Montgomery Blair, Clarksburg, Gaithersburg, Northwest, Northwood, Poolesville, Quince Orchard, Rockville, Sherwood and Thomas S. Wootton).
• The highest graduation rates for the Class of 2021 are at Poolesville High School (99.7 percent); Thomas S. Wootton High School (97.9 percent); Winston Churchill High School (97.0 percent); Northwest High School (96.4 percent) and Walt Whitman High School (96.4 percent).

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