(KNSI) — The Minnesota Department of Education released the class of 2022 graduation rate and proficiency data Tuesday morning.
The graduation rate for the class of 2022 was 83.6% or 58,586 students. Additionally, 3,840 students from earlier classes earned their diplomas in 2022, graduating five, six or seven years after beginning high school.
Students who receive special education services also made gains this year, with four-year graduation rates now higher than pre-pandemic levels.
The 2021-22 school year was the second full school year impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Students graduating in 2022 were in 10th grade when the pandemic started, and their 11th grade year was their most heavily impacted year as schools switched to new ways of learning.
Minnesota’s overall four-year graduation rate has returned to near the pre-pandemic level of 83.7% in 2019 after falling in 2021 from the historic high of 83.8% in 2020.
As for St. Cloud Area School District 742, there was an error by the district in reporting information to the MDE, resulting in an error showing an inaccurate drop in the number of graduates. Superintendent Laurie Putnam explained that the district inadvertently provided incomplete data to the state, and the MDE report does not reflect gains made by District 742 seniors. “Upon review, it is clear the data inaccurately accounts for our actual performance. Now that we’ve found the error, we will correct it.”
According to the Minnesota Report Card, the number of students in the Sauk Rapids-Rice School District meeting standards in math showed a .9 percentage point increase in proficiency from 42.3% in 2021 to 43.2% in 2022 and a 2.3% increase in reading proficiency. In science, there was a .5 percentage point decline from 39.7% to 39.2%. Overall, numbers in all areas declined from 2018. However, fewer students were taking the tests. The graduation rate for Sauk Rapids-Rice stayed relatively the same, with an 85.1% graduation rate in 2022 versus 85.2% for 2021.
Sartell St. Stephen School District also saw a slight decline in math proficiency rates at 61.2% in 2022 versus 61.9% in 2021. Reading saw a minor bump from 65.2% to 65.5%, but a marked decline in science from 57.2% in 2021 to 51.5% in 2022. All areas declined since 2018, but fewer students were taking the tests. The district’s graduation rate was 96.4%.
Minnesota Department of Education Commissioner Willie Jett held a press conference to discuss the results. He was asked about declining test scores compared to near-record graduation rates and which one should carry more weight. Jett says, in his opinion, graduation is the big picture, while test scores are only a moment in time.
“We’re working diligently to do things that incorporate or work with students for their 12, 13, 14 year career within schools. That snapshot of a test score… we change tests frequently throughout a student’s career and, so, that’s why I think at times test scores can fluctuate.”
Jett says higher graduation rates, especially among vulnerable minority students and special education students, are something to celebrate.
___
KNSI News Reporter Grant Dossetto contributed to this story.
___
Copyright 2023 Leighton Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be broadcast, published, redistributed, or rewritten, in any way without consent.
FOLLOW US FOR INSTANT UPDATES!
FOLLOW US FOR INSTANT UPDATES!