The four-year graduation rate for Montgomery County Public schools has been released by the Maryland State Department of Education. The MCPS overall graduation rate has risen to 91.4% with a 2.4 increase since the year prior. 

All student groups had an increased graduation rate for the class of 2021 except Black or African American students who decreased by 0.3% with a graduation rate of 91 percent. Students with limited English proficiency had a substantial increase of 11.6% and Hispanic/Latino students increased by 5.4%. 

The school with the highest graduation rate is Poolesville with 99.7%, a slight increase of .4% from the year prior. Close behind is this school with a graduation rate of 97.9% and Churchill with 97%. 

Although the MCPS graduation rate has increased overall, certain schools saw a decrease or no change in their graduation rate. Within MCPS, there are three schools whose graduation rates decreased from the year prior. Blake decreased by 2.8% with a graduation rate of 89.3%. Kennedy decreased by 3.6% with a graduation rate of 81.5% and Paint Branch decreased by 1.8% with a graduation rate of 91.4%. 

The schools with lower graduation rates in MCPS are also the schools with a higher percentage of economically disadvantaged students. Gaithersburg has the lowest graduation rate in MCPS at 80.1%. According to U.S. News, 53% of students in Gaithersburg are economically disadvantaged compared to Poolesvilles 8%.  

A study by University of Michigan sociologists Geoffrey Wodtke, David Harding and University of Wisconsin-Madison sociologist Felix Elwert suggests that growing up in disadvantaged neighborhoods reduces the chances of high school graduation. According to the study, growing up in neighborhoods with high levels of poverty and unemployment decreases the chances of high school graduation for Black students by 20%. “While our study does not speak to the efficacy of specific policy interventions needed to improve communities that have suffered decades of structural neglect, it seems likely that a lasting commitment to neighborhood improvement and income desegregation would be necessary to resolve the problems identified in our study,” Harding said. 

MCPS has recognized that the pandemic revealed the greater need for social-emotional supports, including mental health resources; however they are encouraged by the increased graduation rate. “Our staff has been doing an extraordinary job under very difficult circumstances to help our students overcome significant disruptions and continue to make progress. While we celebrate these gains, we will not be satisfied until all of our students graduate college, career and community ready, and prepared to thrive in their futures,” Interim MCPS Superintendent Monifa B. McKnight said.