Delaware Significantly Increases Graduation Rate

When Secretary Duncan visited Delaware last week, he praised the progress the state has made in improving opportunities for students in recent years. One of the elements that he emphasized was Delaware’s increase in high school graduation rates. The Delaware Department of Education recently announced that our state’s graduation rate has increased by over four percentage points, from 79.9% in 2012-13 to 84.4% in 2013-14. This represents a significant gain for Delaware’s students and reflects an incredible amount of hard work, dedication, and innovation by educators to provide the best opportunities to better engage students in their education. This year’s increase in graduation rate positions Delaware to potentially exceed our Race to the Top (RTTT) target of 89.2% by next year.

The increases in the graduation rates over the last four years can be seen below:

The Department of Education has credited the increase in graduation rates to the many innovative practices implemented in recent years, including initiatives and programs put in place by districts and schools under Race to Top. Initiatives such as credit recovery programs, ninth grade academies, and targeted interventions are just some of the programs that may have contributed to this increase.

Although these and more likely contributed to the increase in graduation rate, Delaware has made progress in a number of areas that have also supported students on their path to success. In 2013, the Department partnered with the Harvard Strategic Data Project (SDP) to analyze data on the state’s overall secondary and post-secondary attainment. This data and research has been used to inform efforts to increase graduation rates and better support at-risk students.

Last year Delaware released state, district, and school-level remediation data for the first time. The data indicates that 53% of students who enrolled in Delaware colleges or universities were required to enroll in a remediation course. In an effort to better prepare students prior to their enrollment in college, a Foundations of College Math course is being piloted in three districts this year. The course prepares seniors for college-level math courses, and monitoring indicators such as these will help schools and districts continue to innovate and implement programs that best support their students.

Delawareans should be very proud of this gain in high school graduation rates. This year’s increase in the graduation rates and decrease in the dropout rates is a reminder of the transformational effect of the ongoing, difficult work occurring every day in Delaware’s schools. Moving forward, it is important that as a community, we support, build on, and sustain these programs which support student success to provide world-class opportunities for all students.