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MCPS College Enrollment Rate is Second Highest in State

June 5, 2014
As commencement ceremonies continue for Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS), state data show that nearly 80 percent of MCPS graduates enroll in college within 16 months of graduation—the second-highest rate in Maryland.

The 16-month college enrollment rate for MCPS 2012 graduates is 78.4 percent, which is about eight points higher than the state, according to the college enrollment data available on the Maryland Report Card website, www.mdreportcard.org.

“More and more, a postsecondary education is becoming a necessity in order to compete for jobs in a 21st century, global economy,” said Superintendent of Schools Joshua P. Starr. “Clearly, our students understand the importance of college and are enrolling at a very high rate.”

Nearly three-quarters of African American MCPS graduates (74.8 percent) enrolled in college within 16 months of graduation, and 62.8 percent of Hispanic students did. These rates are higher than for the state of Maryland, although they are lower than rates for MCPS students who are White (86 percent) or Asian (84.6 percent).

MCPS has the highest 16-month college enrollment rate in Maryland for students who receive special education services (60.6 percent) and second-highest for students who receive Free- and Reduced-price Meals services (65.3 percent).

Dr. Starr said the college enrollment numbers are encouraging, but recognized there is a wide gap in the enrollment numbers and that not all students are earning their degree. According to an MCPS report, two-thirds of the district’s graduates who enroll in college get a degree within six years.

“We have to make sure that every MCPS student who wants to go to college has the chance to do so and is ready to succeed and get their degree,” Dr. Starr said. “We’re doing better than most, but we still have a lot of work to do.”

One program that is helping in this area is the Achieving Collegiate Excellence and Success (ACES) program, a collaborative effort among MCPS, Montgomery College, and the Universities at Shady Grove. The ACES program provides a continuum of support from high school to college graduation for students who come from backgrounds that are underrepresented in higher education and for those who are the first in their family to attend college. The program began in the fall of 2013 in 10 MCPS high schools. Learn more about the program at www.ACESmontgomery.org.

School-Level Highlights
(All data reflect 16-month college enrollment rates for the MCPS students who graduated in 2012.)

- Of the 25 MCPS comprehensive high schools, 21 had a college-enrollment rate that was higher than the state rate (70 percent).

- The high schools with the highest college enrollment rate were: Thomas S. Wootton (88.9 percent), Poolesville (87.3), Winston Churchill (86.5), Bethesda-Chevy Chase (84.9), and James Hubert Blake (83.7)

- The college enrollment rate for African American students was higher in all 25 MCPS schools than it was in the state (64 percent). The MCPS high schools with the highest African American college enrollment rate were: Damascus (86.2 percent), Paint Branch (82.8), James Hubert Blake (82.3), Bethesda-Chevy Chase (81.8) and Springbrook (80.0).

- The MCPS high schools with the highest college enrollment rates for Hispanic graduates (25 or more graduates) were: Winston Churchill (85.1 percent), Thomas S. Wootton (81.6), James Hubert Blake (77.6), Bethesda-Chevy Chase (75.8), and Damascus (73.0).

- The MCPS high schools with the highest college enrollment rate for graduates who received special education services (25 or more graduates) were: James Hubert Blake (84 percent), Thomas S. Wootton (80.6), Winston Churchill (74.6), Richard Montgomery (74.3), and Bethesda-Chevy Chase (73.3).

- The MCPS high schools with the highest college enrollment rate for graduates who received Free- and Reduced-price Meals services (25 or more graduates) were: Bethesda-Chevy Chase (81.3 percent), James Hubert Blake (81.0), Damascus (77.1), Northwest (75.2), and Richard Montgomery (75).

College Enrollment by District

MCPS Graduation Schedule

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