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As four-year graduation rate remains steady, five-year graduation rate increases, annual dropout rate at new low of 2.9%. New Bedford has 61-percent reduction in dropout rate since 2009-10, state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education highlights in their statement.
The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) today released its annual data on graduation and dropout rates across the state. As New Bedford High School continues its turnaround plan, the dropout rate has continued to decrease, the five-year graduation rate has increased, and the four-year graduation rate has remained steady since the beginning of the turnaround with a slight decrease of 0.6 percentage points.
New Bedford noticed a sharp decline in dropouts over the past five years, highlighted by DESE in their press statement, from 237 students who dropped out in 2010 to 91 who dropped out in 2015, as New Bedford continues to strive to ensure every student graduates.
The five-year graduation rate at New Bedford High School – 67.7 percent – is now the highest recorded since the DESE recorded beginning in 2007.
The annual dropout rate at NBHS decreased to 2.9 percent in 2015, down from 3.5 percent in 2014; it was at 4.2 percent in 2013 and 5.3 percent in 2012.
The four-year dropout rate remained approximately steady at an increase of just 0.6 percentage point to 14.5 percent – down by about one third from 2013, at 21.2 percent.
Some of the outcomes for New Bedford High include:
- A decrease of 146 fewer dropouts since 2009-10, with 91 students dropping out in 2015 compared to 237 students dropping out in 2010.
- The four-year dropout rate has decreased by about 7 percentage points at NBHS – from 21.2 percent in 2013 to 13.9 percent in 2014 and steady at 14.5 percent in 2015.
- The annual dropout rate decreased to 2.9 percent in 2015, down from 3.4 percent in 2014, 4.2 percent in 2013 and a high of 7.4 percent in 2008 and 2009.
- The five-year adjusted cohort graduation rate (students who have attended NBHS since freshman year and graduated from NBHS) increased from 68.7 percent in 2014 to 70.3 percent in 2015, the first time since 2006 that it has reached above 70 percent. In 2010, the four-year adjusted cohort graduation rate was 61.4 percent.
- The four-year graduation rate is about 10 percentage points higher than it was just five years ago in 2010.
Superintendent Pia Durkin said New Bedford High School educators continue to provide support for all students and that the positive shift in the five-year graduation rate is significant.
“Every student at New Bedford High matters, and that belief drives our educators every day,” said Superintendent Durkin. “The increased five-year graduation rate underscores our commitment to ensuring that students are given the supports they need in order to graduate and leave our high school prepared for college and career. It is a direct result of the work of educators connecting to our students and working with them on a fixed plan to keep them on track to graduate. New Bedford High School must continue to improve and for the second year in a row, the school has demonstrated improvement and a commitment to excellence for every student, reflected in the number of students who showed the persistence to graduate in 2015.”
Mayor Jon Mitchell said, “Improved graduation rates are a key goal of reforming our school system. New Bedford Public Schools continue to improve and the reform effort is providing more opportunities for our children to succeed after high school.”
Headmaster Bernadette Coelho said, “It is a testament to the work that continues at New Bedford High School to ensure that every single student graduates and that we do everything necessary to prepare every NBHS student for graduation. I commend the hard work of our students and our staff, particularly those students who are taking advantage of multiple pathways that may extend their time at New Bedford High School but ensure they are ready for success.”
