Baltimore County Public Schools: BCPS graduation rate improves to 88.5% for Class of 2020

Press release from Baltimore County Public Schools:

February 23, 2021

TOWSON, MD – The four-year adjusted cohort graduation rate for Baltimore County Public Schools has improved from 87.6 percent for the Class of 2019 to 88.5 percent for the Class of 2020, according to data released today by the Maryland State Department of Education. The statewide graduation rate decreased from 86.86 percent in 2019 to 86.75 percent in 2020.
The BCPS four-year cohort dropout rate decreased from 8.8 percent in 2019 to 8.3 percent in 2020. At the state level, dropout rates decreased from 8.42 percent in 2019 to 8.25 percent in 2020.
“I celebrate every one of our schools – from the earliest grades up through high school – for their dedicated efforts to increase our graduation rate. I also congratulate the historic Class of 2020 for their hard work to achieve this important milestone during a pandemic," said BCPS Superintendent Dr. Darryl L. Williams.

Through a collaborative and comprehensive team approach, BCPS utilizes proactive and responsive strategies to monitor and support the progress of every high school student starting in Grade 9, and to ensure that students remain on track to graduate.

Precise, ongoing data monitoring drives informed strategic support to students and families, including ongoing communication with families regarding on-time graduation status, developing individual student plans with parents/guardians and students for graduating on-time, applying best practices to maintain on-time graduation, and providing flexible opportunities for credit recovery outside of the regular school day and year.

This press release was produced by Baltimore County Public Schools. The views expressed here are the author’s own.