Minnesota public high schools saw their graduation rate tick up one-tenth of a percentage point last year, reaching another all-time high, at 83.8 percent, according the data released Thursday by the state Department of Education.
The Class of 2020 spent its last three months learning from home after Gov. Tim Walz ordered schools closed because of the coronavirus pandemic. Those who made it to graduation were recognized with virtual or drive-in ceremonies.
“This was a time of great uncertainty, and the perseverance of our students, educators and families demonstrates their commitment to rise to this moment and reach the end of their pre-K through grade 12 journey,” Education Commissioner Heather Mueller said Thursday in a news release.
As schools made the sudden shift to distance learning in spring 2020, the Department of Education urged them to impose student-friendly grading systems.
St. Paul Public Schools may have been the most generous, awarding all middle and high school students passing grades for all third- and fourth-quarter classes. The district posted a 78.3 percent on-time graduation rate last year, a full 2 percentage points better than the year before.
“While the overall rate increased to its highest rate in six years, there is still much work to be done to close the achievement gaps among our students,” Superintendent Joe Gothard said in a news release.
Meanwhile, neighboring metro schools districts saw declines in students reaching the finish line last June:
- 74.2 percent of students in Minneapolis Public Schools graduated on-time, down 1.1 percentage points
- 92.3 percent in South Washington County, down 1 point
- 88.8 percent in Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan, down 2.4 points
- 86.2 percent in Anoka-Hennepin, down 2.5 points
- 82.5 percent in North St. Paul-Maplewood-Oakdale, down 1.3 points
Mueller doubts St. Paul’s decision to pass everyone made a big difference in the district’s graduation rate, noting that the students who failed previous classes would not suddenly have recovered those credits because of the move.
“If you are far behind and it looks as though graduation in four years is going to be difficult, that’s not going to shift in March,” she said.
The state again had huge gaps in four-year graduation rates among demographic groups:
- 89 percent of white students graduated on-time, up .3 percentage points
- 89.1 percent of Asians, up 1.5 points
- 70.4 percent of Hispanics, up .5 points
- 69.2 percent of Blacks, down .7 points
- 55.7 percent of American Indians, up 4.9 points
The state also saw a slight increase in the share of students who, even though they didn’t graduate in four years, still are working toward a diploma — 8.7 percent of last year’s class, up from 8.4 percent the year before.
“When our school communities rally around students to help them complete high school, we can make a real difference,” Mueller said.
Minnesota high school graduation rates have been steadily rising, reaching new highs each of the last 12 years.
Mueller said she’s anxious to see how the 2021 graduating class performed after the pandemic disrupted their senior year.
“We do anticipate that we will see some impacts from the pandemic … and we do know that some students did fall behind,” she said.
However, some students did well with distance learning or took advantage of new options for recovering lost credits, she said.
