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Information Services - Statistical Reports

Cohort 2007 Five-Year Graduation Rates - State Results

The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (Department) is calculating and reporting graduation rates as part of overall efforts to improve educational outcomes for all students. In addition, reporting graduation rates is required by the federal No Child Left Behind Act and by a National Governors Association compact that Massachusetts has signed.

The 2007 five-year cohort graduation rate is calculated as follows:

# of students in cohort (denominator) who graduate in 5 years or less
[# of 1st time entering 9th graders in 2003-04] - transfers out/deaths + transfers in

The 2007 five-year cohort graduation rate for Massachusetts public high schools was 84.0 percent which represented increases of 3.1 percentage points when compared to the 2007 four-year rate and 1.3 percentage points when compared to the 2006 cohort five-year graduation rate.

All student subgroups had a higher 2007 five-year rate as compared to the 2007 four-year rate including students with limited English proficiency and African American students who achieved the largest gains of 7.5 and 6.0 percentage points respectively. While significant gaps in the graduation rates among different subgroups remain, the additional year did narrow the margin between the highest and lowest racial and ethnic groups (White and Hispanic) from 27.9 percentage points at the end of four years to 24.1 percentage points after five years.

Additional critical findings of the report include:

The following tables and graphs further summarize the five-year results for the 2007 cohort. The results are based on data submitted to the Department by school districts through the Department's Student Information Management System.

Table 1. Graduation Results for All Students and Student Subgroups 2
  GraduatesNon-Graduates3
 2007
Cohort # 4
5-Year Rate2007 4-Yr DifferenceStill in SchoolNon-Grad Completer 5GEDDropped OutExpelled
All Students75,91284.0%+3.12.7%1.6%2.7%8.9%0.1%
Female 37,34186.5%+2.42.3%1.5%2.4%7.2%0.1%
Male 38,57181.5%+3.73.1%1.7%2.9%10.6%0.2%
LEP 6 3,98160.8%+7.55.4%8.1%0.8%24.8%0.2%
Special Education 13,59468.3%+5.58.6%4.2%2.5%16.3%0.1%
Low Income 24,49570.7%+5.54.5%3.3%3.8%17.6%0.2%
African American6,51971.2%+6.05.8%4.2%2.5%15.9%0.4%
Asian 3,41987.7%+4.02.0%1.6%1.7%6.8%0.2%
Hispanic 9,15664.4%+5.95.3%4.2%3.3%22.6%0.3%
Multi-race, Non-Hisp. 78984.1%+4.51.3%2.8%2.1%9.6%0.1%
Native American19374.5%+6.14.7%2.6%3.6%14.6%0.0%
Pacific Islander13267.2%+3.65.3%3.8%7.6%16.0%0.0%
White 55,70488.5%+2.12.0%0.9%2.6%5.9%0.1%
Urban20,77168.8%+4.94.7%3.5%4.0%19.9%0.2%


Table 2. Graduation Results for Race/Ethnicity Groups by Gender
  GraduatesNon-Graduates
 2007
Cohort #
5-Year Rate2007 4-Yr DifferenceStill in SchoolNon-Grad Completer GEDDropped OutExpelled
African American Female3,27976.4%+4.35.0%1.0%1.9%12.5%0.2%
African American Male3,24066.1%+7.66.5%4.4%3.0%19.4%0.7%
Asian Female1,77589.2%+3.72.2%1.3%1.8%5.5%0.0%
Asian Male1,66486.3%+4.41.9%1.9%1.5%8.0%0.3%
Hispanic Female4,62068.9%+4.94.5%4.5%3.3%18.6%0.1%
Hispanic Male4,53660.0%+6.86.0%3.8%3.2%26.6%0.4%
Multi-race Female37388.5%+4.11.2%2.4%1.7%6.2%0.0%
Multi-race Male41679.1%+4.81.3%3.2%2.7%13.4%0.3%
Native American Female10176.3%+6.72.2%1.1%5.4%15.1%0.0%
Native American Male9272.7%+5.47.1%4.0%2.0%14.1%0.0%
Pacific Islander Female7276.7%+1.75.0%0.0%5.0%13.3%0.0%
Pacific Islander Male6059.2%+5.05.6%7.0%9.9%18.3%0.0%
White Female28,35190.5%+1.71.6%0.7%2.3%4.8%0.0%
White Male27,35386.6%+2.62.3%1.0%2.9%7.0%0.1%


Table 3. Graduation Results for Students Receiving Special Education Services by Gender
  GraduatesNon-Graduates
 2007
Cohort #
5-Year Rate2007 4-Yr DifferenceStill in SchoolNon-Grad Completer GEDDropped OutExpelled
Special Ed. Female5,01870.0%+4.78.8%4.5%2.4%14.2%0.0%
Special Ed. Male8,75667.6%+6.38.4%4.0%2.6%17.3%0.2%


Table 4. Graduation Results for Limited English Proficient Students by Gender
  GraduatesNon-Graduates
 2007
Cohort #
5-Year Rate2007 4-Yr DifferenceStill in SchoolNon-Grad Completer GEDDropped OutExpelled
LEP Female1,89065.9%+7.15.0%9.0%0.8%19.2%0.1%
LEP Male2,09156.1%+7.85.7%7.2%0.8%29.9%0.3%
LEP in Original Cohort2,39662.3%+5.56.0%5.7%1.1%24.7%0.2%
LEP Entered Cohort after 10/1/041,58558.5%+10.54.5%11.6%0.3%24.9%0.3%


Table 5. Graduation Results for Race/Ethnicity by Limited English Proficient Status
  GraduatesNon-Graduates
 2007
Cohort #
5-Year Rate2007 4-Yr DifferenceStill in SchoolNon-Grad Completer GEDDropped OutExpelled
African American LEP71364.8%+9.04.9%13.5%0.3%16.1%0.4%
African American Non-LEP5,80672.0%+5.65.9%3.0%2.7%15.9%0.4%
Asian LEP61779.4%+11.02.3%5.2%0.8%12.3%0.0%
Asian Non-LEP2,80289.6%+2.62.0%0.8%1.9%5.5%0.2%
Hispanic LEP2,03351.5%+6.57.0%7.9%1.0%32.4%0.2%
Hispanic Non-LEP7,12368.1%+5.74.8%3.1%3.9%19.8%0.3%
Multi-race LEP2060.0%+10.00.0%20.0%0.0%20.0%0.0%
Multi-race Non-LEP76984.7%+4.31.3%2.3%2.2%9.3%0.1%
Native American LEP875.0%+37.50.0%0.0%0.0%25.0%0.0%
Native American Non-LEP18574.5%+4.84.9%2.7%3.8%14.1%0.0%
Pacific-Islander LEP666.7%+16.70.0%0.0%0.0%33.3%0.0%
Pacific Islander Non-LEP12667.2%+2.95.6%4.0%8.0%15.2%0.0%
White LEP58468.1%+4.43.9%5.0%0.9%22.1%0.0%
White Non-LEP55,12088.7%+2.11.9%0.8%2.7%5.8%0.1%


Table 6. Graduation Results for Non-Mobile and Mobile Students7
  GraduatesNon-Graduates
High Schools Attended2007
Cohort #
5-Year Rate2007 4-Yr DifferenceStill in SchoolNon-Grad Completer GEDDropped OutExpelled
One School63,83988.1%+2.01.8%1.2%2.0%6.7%0.2%
Two Schools9,49266.5%+7.76.0%3.1%5.7%18.5%0.3%
Three Schools1,92148.2%+10.610.9%5.4%7.2%27.7%0.9%
Four or More Schools66037.3%+8.916.1%8.6%6.8%31.2%0.3%


Table 7. Competency Determination Status for Select Non-Graduates after Five Years
 Still in SchoolDropped Out
 NumberCDNo CDNumberCDNo CD
All Students2,05021.9%78.1%6,77930.4%69.6%
Female85420.4%79.6%2,70730.8%69.2%
Male1,19664.0%36.0%4,07230.2%69.8%
LEP21447.0%53.0%98710.4%89.6%
Special Education1,15444.8%55.2%2,19425.4%74.6%
Low Income1,09160.3%39.7%4,29425.3%74.7%
African American37756.4%43.6%1,04021.4%78.6%
Asian7071.1%28.9%23124.2%75.8%
Hispanic48358.7%41.2%2,07216.9%83.1%
Multi-race, Non-Hisp.1069.5%30.5%7644.7%55.3%
Native American983.3%16.7%2835.7%64.3%
Pacific Islander740.0%60.0%2133.3%66.7%
White1,09465.4%34.5%3,31141.7%58.3%


Table 8. Distribution of Graduation Rates in the Aggregate for Districts8
2007 Five-Year
Graduation Rate
Number of Districts
Four-Year Rate
Number of Districts
Five-Year Rate
Percentage of Five-Year Rate
< 50%651.8
50 - <60%931.1
60 - <70%1362.1
70 - <80%393612.8
80 - <85%342810.0
85 - <90%695820.6
90 - <95%667526.7
95 - 100%457024.9
Total281281100


Table 9. Distribution of Graduation Rates in the Aggregate for Schools9
2007 Five-Year
Graduation Rate
Number of School
Four-Year Rate
Number of Schools
Five-Year Rate
Percentage of Five-Year Rate
< 50%8246.8
50 - <60%12154.3
60 - <70%20164.6
70 - <80%433911.1
80 - <85%403510.0
85 - <90%645716.2
90 - <95%758423.9
95 - 100%598123.1
Total351351100

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