Rochester Public Schools Graduation Rate Beats State Average
Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News)-The Rochester Public Schools District’s (RPS) graduation rate beat the state average last year.
That’s according to the latest figures released by the Minnesota Department of Education Tuesday morning. The new data also indicated Rochester saw a larger increase in its graduation rate from 2021 to 2022 compared to the statewide average.
The data says 85.9% of RPS students graduated last year, which is a return to pre-pandemic number and is up from 83.8% in 2021. That tops the statewide graduation rate of 83.6% and is a 2.1% increase in Rochester compared to a 0.2% statewide rate increase.
RPS saw rates increase by 8.69% for Black and African American students, 2.78% increase for Hispanic or Latino students and a 2.22% increase for white students. A statement from RPS says the district saw a 4.56% increase in graduation rates among students with disabilities and students eligible for free/reduced-price lunches experienced 2.32% graduation rate increase.
“Throughout the school year last year, we focused on building relationships with all of our students, especially those from groups that struggled the most during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Superintendent of Schools Dr. Kent Pekel in a statement disclosing the state data. “I think this increase in Rochester’s graduation rate overall and especially the graduation rates of students from historically marginalized communities suggests that strategy paid off."
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