By Konk Life Contributors

 

Monroe County School District yesterday released its Federal High School Graduation Rate for the 2012-2013 school year, based on a Florida Department of Education report. The district’s figure is 70.84 percent, showing a 2.2 percent increase from the 2011-2012 high school graduation rate of 68.64 percent.

 

“Beginning in 2011, federal regulations required states to calculate a four-year graduation rate that includes only standard diplomas. Previously, Florida’s official graduation rate included both standard and special diploma recipients. Students who earn a special diploma, a GED-based diploma, a certificate of completion, or who have been retained and are still in school are not included in the federal graduation rate,” according to the school district press release.

 

 

Florida provides this rate as the U.S. Department of Education (USED) has required that all states adopt a uniform calculation since 2010-2011. Monroe County high schools’ Federal High School graduation rates were broken down by school and given chronologically for both 2010-11 and 2011-12 as well as for last year, as follows.

 

 

Coral Shores High School  73.87 percent, 74.62 percent and 78.26 percent, up 3.64 percent; Key West High School  66.39 percent,  73.62 percent and  74.02 percent, up four tenths of a percent; Marathon High School 73.96 percent, 59.75 percent and  68.83 percent, up 9.08 percent.

 

 

“Raising our high school graduation rate continues to be a point of great emphasis and importance for the Monroe County Schools. While I am pleased with the positive trending of our data we still are not where we want to be with regard to our graduation rates. . . . (T)he challenge goes far beyond just our high schools and our improvement efforts must effectively reach down into our elementary and middle schools as well. Our 2012-13 improvement in our graduation rates is a success we can all share in and our efforts to improve will require focused efforts across our PK-12 system. Together I know we can continue to improve upon this important measure of student success. Our goal has to be a 100 percent high school graduation rate,” said Superintendent Mark Porter.

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