Graduation Rate Increases Among Ethnic Students In HCPSS

HOWARD COUNTY, MD — Graduation data released Tuesday by the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) show that Howard County public school students continue to graduate at higher rates than their peers across Maryland, which also improved slightly from the previous year. The 92.78 percent graduation rate for the Howard County Public School System (HCPSS) Class of 2019 is up nearly 1 percentage point over the 91.95 percent rate in 2018 and is nearly 6 percentage points above the 86.86 percent state average. Howard County’s rate remains the highest among the six Maryland school systems having enrollment of more than 50,000 students.

HCPSS has maintained graduation rates above 90 percent for several years. The statistics reflect data for the cohort of students graduating within four years after entering high school.
HCPSS dropout patterns echo the graduation rate trends. At 4.53 percent, the dropout rate for the Class of 2019 shows a slight improvement compared to the 4.76 percent rate for 2018, remains well below the state average of 8.42 percent and compares favorably to other large Maryland school systems.

While graduation rate gaps persist among student demographic groups, some groups showed notable improvement compared to the prior year. The graduation rate for Hispanic/Latinx students increased over 2 percentage points, from 76.94 percent in 2018 to 79.34 percent in 2019. Among students receiving special services, the Limited English Proficiency (LEP) and Special Education groups showed the greatest improvement, both increasing by more than 3 percentage points over the prior year, with LEP increasing from 43.44 percent to 47.22 percent, and special education increasing from 67.41 percent to 70.47 percent. The group designations are assigned by MSDE to track year-over-year performance.

“The true measure of our success is bridging the gap for those who are falling behind,” said Superintendent Michael J. Martirano in a statement. “The reality is that we cannot achieve significant change in the graduation rate overnight, and as a system we continue to strengthen our efforts around the factors that affect student success: attendance, access, achievement and acceptance.”