Colorado High School Graduation Rate Upticks While Dropout Rate Declines
DENVER (CBS4) - The Colorado Department of Education says the state's high school graduation rate is getting better. It increased slightly to nearly 82% last spring, and has been steadily rising since 2010.
Additionally, students of color graduating in four years for 2019-20 jumped to 77.1%, a 1.6% increase from the previous year. Black students saw the biggest increase with 2.2%.
The Class of 2020 had 981 more graduates than in 2019 despite the coronavirus pandemic forcing schools to stop in-person learning for the last two months of the school year.
"But we are so proud of the students, their parents and the teachers who helped them finish the year strong. History will look back at this generation of children and marvel at their perseverance and dedication. A rising graduation rate and a falling dropout rate are wonderful accomplishments, especially during these tough times," said Colorado Education Commissioner Katy Anthes.
More welcomed news from the CDE shows the statewide dropout rate fell to its lowest level in the past decade, 1.8%. The department says they saw 716 fewer students drop out between grades 7th and 12th in the 2019 school year compared to the previous year.
