Montgomery County Public Schools’ 81.5 percent high-school graduation rates ranks fourth among the 50 largest districts in the nation, according to a new study published Tuesday in Education Week magazine.
Prince George’s County ranked 18th, with a rate of 67.3 percent. Fairfax County led the nation at 82.5 percent, and Baltimore County was third with 81.9 percent.
“It is encouraging that we are among the best in the nation in terms of our graduation rates,” Dr. Jerry Weast, superintendent of Montgomery County Public Schools, said Tuesday. “However, we know that there is much more work to do to ensure that all of our students leave MCPS with a solid educational foundation that prepares them well for college or the world of work.”
Nearly 140,000 students were enrolled in the 2005-06 term in Montgomery County, making it the largest district in the state and the 17th-largest in the nation. The system requires students to obtain one credit more than Maryland’s 21 credit requirement for graduation, with students taking four math credits instead of the state’s mandatory three.
According to the study, which is based on graduation numbers from the 2003-03 school year, the national grad rate is 69.6 percent. Both Maryland (74.4 percent) and Virginia (74.9 percent) easily topped that.
Fairfax is the largest school district in the state and 14th-largest in the country, with roughly 163,000 students enrolled in 2005-06. Requirements for high-school diplomas have toughened in recent years, requiring Virginia students to pass six Standard of Learning tests, beginning with the class of 2004.
Also of note in the study was the ranking of Baltimore City, which was second-lowest with a graduation rate of 38.5 percent.
The Education Week study was conducted by the Editorial Projects in Education Research Center. It analyzed graduation data for all 50 states and the District of Columbia, as well as the nation’s 50 largest school districts.
Top five high school graduation rates
1. Fairfax County — 82.5%
2. Wake County, N.C. — 82.2%
3. Baltimore County — 81.9%
4. Montgomery County — 81.5%
5. Cypress-Fairbanks, Texas — 81.3%
Source: Education Week
