AUGUSTA (AP) — Maine education officials are touting the state’s latest high school graduation rates.
The Department of Education said the state’s overall graduation rate increased in 2011, the latest year for which data is available, jumping from 82.8 percent to 83.8 percent.
The Kennebec Journal reports that at the same time graduation rates fell at half of Maine’s high schools.
The graduation rate is the rate of students who graduate within four years of entering high school.
Education Commissioner Stephen Bowen said in a statement that officials are happy that Maine appears to remain ahead of the national average, but said there is still “considerable” work to do.
The graduation rate for low-income students increased about 2 percentage points but remains lower than the rate for the general population.
The Times Record Sustaining Sponsor
We believe a community must be informed to thrive. bowdoin.edu
Comments are not available on this story. Read more about why we allow commenting on some stories and not on others.
We believe it's important to offer commenting on certain stories as a benefit to our readers. At its best, our comments sections can be a productive platform for readers to engage with our journalism, offer thoughts on coverage and issues, and drive conversation in a respectful, solutions-based way. It's a form of open discourse that can be useful to our community, public officials, journalists and others.
We do not enable comments on everything — exceptions include most crime stories, and coverage involving personal tragedy or sensitive issues that invite personal attacks instead of thoughtful discussion.
You can read more here about our commenting policy and terms of use. More information is also found on our FAQs.
Show less