Charles County graduation rate edges up; district flags overrepresentation in dropout data for Hispanic and multilingual students

District staff presented four- and five-year cohort graduation-rate data to the Charles County Board of Education on March 11, reporting a modest rise in the four-year rate for the class of 2024 and offering detail about which student groups are over- and underrepresented in the district’s dropout counts.

Assistant superintendent Steve Roberts and staff walked board members through cohort definitions and how the state’s accounting rules treat students who leave the district. Roberts said the district’s four-year cohort rate rose from 90.2% to 90.5% and that the five-year rate showed anticipated year-to-year shifts tied to cohort composition. He noted the state suppresses small subgroup data under certain thresholds.

Roberts and staff emphasized…