DOE raises required 4-year graduation rate

LYNN – The Massachusetts Department of Education (DOE) voted Tuesday to raise the minimum required four-year graduation percentage for a district to achieve annual yearly progression (AYP) from 55 to 60 percent.As part of the No Child Left Behind Act, each public school district in the state must graduate a minimum percentage of high school students in four years to avoid placement on the DOE’s warning list, which could ultimately decrease funding for that district.The board also voted Tuesday to increase the five-year graduation rate from 60 to 65 percent or show a 2 percent increase in the four-year graduation rate from the previous year. This is the first increase in either category since the four-year rate was increased to 55 percent in 2005.”The graduation rate is a critical performance indicator of our success,” Board of Education Chairman Paul Reville said in a statement. “I am delighted to see some modest improvement this year, and I am committed to ensuring this remains a priority topic for the Board of Education going forward.”With graduation rates steadily improving in Lynn, the new regulations should not pose a problem in the future, unless there is a significant increase in four-year dropout rates.In 2007, when the required graduation rate was set at 55 percent, Lynn Public Schools had a 72.3 percent graduation rate, including 10 percent of students attending high school for a fifth year and 3 percent passing the General Education Development (GED) test.Only Special Education students fell below the required percentage in that year, with a 45 percent graduation rate.Other area districts put forth similar numbers in 2007, with Saugus graduating 78.7 percent of four-year high school students, Peabody 84 percent and Revere showing a 68.5 percent graduation rate.Smaller communities such as Swampscott (98.4 percent), Marblehead (97.3 percent) and Lynnfield (91.7 percent), which have smaller student numbers and lower English as a second language, Special Education and minority enrollment, boasted higher graduation percentages.According to a DOE report, 80.9 percent of students entering high school in 2003 across the state graduated in 2007. Of the remaining students, 6.6 percent are still in school, less than 1 percent did not earn a high school diploma after four years, 2 percent achieved a GED and 9.4 percent dropped out.Statewide, 40 of the 351 high schools are not expected to meet the new target in 2008.While the state’s graduation rate increased overall since 2006, a gap was still evident in the rates among minority students. In 2007 65.2 percent of African American students graduated within four years, as did 58.5 percent of Hispanics.Among subgroups, 53.3 percent of Limited English Proficiency students graduated as did 62.8 percent of Special Education students and 65.2 percent of low-income students.Lynn topped state averages in minority graduation rates, with 71.4 percent of African American students graduating and 65.7 percent of Hispanics achieving the goal.”It is important that we hold our students to the highest possible standards,” said Reville. “I am very pleased that the board has agreed to increase this target.”