2023 Graduation Rate For Every MCPS High School; Districtwide Graduation Rate Is 89.6 Percent

According to data released March 26 by the Maryland State Department of Education, the four-year graduation rate for Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) students in the Class of 2023 was nearly 90%–at 89.6%.

The MCPS graduation rate declined by 0.7 percentage points compared to last year and is higher than the state average of 85.8%, down from 86.3% in the prior year. Students graduating in 2023 entered high school in 2019-2020 and a significant portion of their high school experience was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting virtual and hybrid learning environments.

The Class of 2023 saw increases in graduation rates for students who receive Free and Reduced-price Meals System services (FARMS) (an increase of 2.8 percentage points), students who are Two or More Races (an increase of 2.6 percentage points), students who receive Individualized Education Program (IEP) services (an increase of 2.5 percentage points), and Black or African American students (an increase of 0.3 percentage points)...

https://mocoshow.com/2024/03/26/2023-graduation-rate-for-every-mcps-high-school-districtwide-graduation-rate-is-89-6-percent/

MCPS Releases 2022-2023 Statistics on Demographics, Graduation and Retention Rates

...In the previous school year, MCPS’ graduation rate was 90.3% with Asian students graduating at a rate of 97% and Hispanics at 80% The district, with an operating budget of $3.16 billion, has 24,907 employees. Close to 14% of teachers left MCPS, which is fewer than the 21.7% who left during the previous school year.

Kindergarten literacy rates increased 24%, from 48% to 72%. Twelve new math coaches were hired this school year, and 22 schools were added to the expanded enriched literacy curriculum in elementary schools, for a total of 63 schools.

MCPS now has six wellness centers in six high schools and 117 mindfulness rooms and spaces...

MCPS Releases 2022-2023 Statistics on Demographics, Graduation and Retention Rates - Montgomery Community Media (mymcmedia.org)

Maryland school leaders waive some graduation requirements for high school seniors

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The Maryland State Board of Education voted Tuesday to waive the requirement that high school seniors pass state tests in order to earn a diploma.

State graduation tests will be suspended for the first time since they were put in place in 2009 because the state has cancelled all testing this spring and closed schools until the end of April in response to the new coronavirus pandemic. State leaders shut schools on March 13 as the cases of COVID-19 infections rose.

During a normal spring, high school seniors would need to pass American government, Algebra I and English 10 in order to earn a diploma. Those students who can’t pass the test can opt to do a project that is overseen by a teacher. Students also were required to take the Maryland Integrated Science test, although not pass it. The requirement to take the exam was lifted as well.

Seniors also won’t have to complete service learning hours, usually defined as volunteering in the community, in order to get a diploma this year. And the board voted unanimously to provide waivers for some of the hours needed to complete courses for career technology education students who are getting certifications to become nail technicians, cosmetologists and barbers...

https://www.baltimoresun.com/coronavirus/bs-md-graduation-requirements-waived-20200414-6kculyujdbfezfmyvwbafs2gom-story.html

Maryland school board won’t increase passing test scores

By: Associated Press February 26, 2020

ANNAPOLIS — Maryland’s state school board voted Tuesday to keep current graduation requirements in place for incoming high school students, reversing previous plans to raise the required scores on standardized tests...

https://thedailyrecord.com/2020/02/26/maryland-graduation-requirements/

Garcia’s lawyer, John Sharifi, said in court that his client had debilitating epilepsy and claimed that he had been sexually abused by a teacher in middle school, in a bid to encourage Boynton to set a lighter sentence

The fourth man convicted of killing two Germantown, Maryland, boys the night before they were supposed to graduate from high school in 2017 was sentenced to 100 years in prison on Friday.

Roger Garcia was convicted of second-degree murder and gun charges last month in the deaths of Shadi Adi Najjar, 17, and Artem Ziberov, 18, who were found in a running Honda Civic on Gallery Court in Montgomery Village in June 2017.

Garcia was given the maximum sentence on all counts: 30 years for each murder charge and 20 years for each handgun count...

...Garcia’s lawyer, John Sharifi, said in court that his client had debilitating epilepsy and claimed that he had been sexually abused by a teacher in middle school, in a bid to encourage Boynton to set a lighter sentence...

https://wtop.com/montgomery-county/2020/01/100-year-sentence-in-killing-of-montgomery-county-teens-night-before-graduation/

@Fox5Wagner New- The 2 and a 1/2 year saga of 4 men convicted of ambushing 2 Montgomery County high school students has now come to an end

New- The 2 and a 1/2 year saga of 4 men convicted of ambushing 2 Montgomery County high school students has now come to an end. Roger Garcia, the last of the 4 to go to trial, has been sentenced to 100 years in prison. pic.twitter.com/cjSQr1zSkA

— Paul Wagner (@Fox5Wagner) January 10, 2020

Germantown man sentenced to 100 years in prison for killing two Northwest High students

...The June 5, 2017, meeting was supposed to be for Najjar and Ziberov to sell extra tickets to their high school graduation...

A Germantown man convicted last month for his role in the 2017 killing of two Northwest High School students was sentenced Friday to 100 years in prison.

Roger Garcia, 22, was convicted Dec. 16 of two counts of second-degree murder. Police say he and three others killed Shadi Ali Najjar, 17, and Artem Ziberov, 18, in June 2017, the night before their graduation...

https://bethesdamagazine.com/bethesda-beat/courts/germantown-man-sentenced-to-100-years-in-prison-for-killing-two-northwest-high-students/?fbclid=IwAR3d9XlHF_xMc2s1wxZ8wEmd9M5wuX1PXJce7uM9jCLbGI-zD-apupC2b4I

Board of Ed Now Paying $90,000 to Hold @mcps Graduations at UMBC #BlairHighSchool #NorthwestHS #PaintBranchHS #WalterJohnsonHS

From today's Board of Education agenda:

What happened to using the University of Maryland in College Park facility?

How many MCPS high schools will have to transport their students and families to Baltimore for their high school graduation ceremony?

.@blairprincipal announces Blazers will graduates from UMBC in June 1 at 10 a.m. pic.twitter.com/MkU0kXgAC8

— Deirdre Byrne (@DeirdreByrneMCM) January 9, 2020

"A sense of urgency is called for because 2,010 students dropped out of MCPS in the past 2.5 years, the number of students in a medium-sized high school." That's a lot of dropping out!

• From 2017 to the present, approximately 544 Grade 9 students, 696 Grade 10 students, 390 Grade 11 students, and 380 Grade 12 students dropped out of school in MCPS

• MCPS data reveal that in the 2015‒2016 school year, 28,144 of our 152,439 students were chronically absent; 18.5 percent of the total number of students, and those numbers are rising as our enrollment increases; the 18.5 percent is greater than the national average of 10 to 15 percent. 

• [Parents were excluded from Superintendent Jack Smith's committee.]

•  READING is another major concern with thousands of students reading below grade level, some so low they are embarrassed because they cannot do the academic work, and therefore,they drop out. Thirty-one percent of this year’s Grade 9 students and 28 percent of Grade 6 students read below grade level (MCPS data).

• Insufficient attention to equity [This from the public school system that charges students illegal class fees!] seen in the high number of dropouts among students who receive Free and Reduced-Price Meals System (FARMS) services (40 percent of total MCPS dropouts) and the disproportionate numbers of Black or African American 

Full text of Superintendent Jack R. Smith's memo to the Board of Education:

https://go.boarddocs.com/mabe/mcpsmd/Board.nsf/files/BEBM2D591C6C/$file/Student%20Attendance%20Pathway%20Engagement%20190729.pdf

Board of Education to hand out meaningless diplomas during the next several weeks

Note:  The following article is based largely on information that an internal MCPS source leaked to the Washington Post without authorization.

Washington Post: Can you skip 47 days of English class and still graduate? At this Montgomery County high school, yes.

As graduation approached last year, the list of often-absent students at Albert Einstein High School in suburban Maryland was long. More than 175 seniors repeatedly missed classes, many in courses required for their diplomas.

Most students at the Montgomery County school graduated anyway.

Entire article at:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/can-you-skip-47-days-of-english-class-and-still-graduate-from-high-school/2019/05/25/be3318ca-1b84-11e9-88fe-f9f77a3bcb6c_story.html

Excerpts from article:

Longtime Einstein Principal James G. Fernandez, who recently announced his retirement, declined to speak about absences or related issues, school system officials said.

At Magruder High School in Derwood, 43 percent of high school students were chronically absent, the county’s highest.

The documents obtained by The Post show that 115 Einstein seniors were frequently absent in math courses and that at least 88 missed senior-year English classes required for a diploma. Others were often out during science, social studies, art, physical education or Advanced Placement classes that may — or may not — have been required for graduation.

Some teachers see the fallout in the Montgomery County graduates who arrive at Montgomery College unprepared every year. Nearly 70 percent of those students in 2018 needed to take remedial classes in math and 37 percent in English, college officials said.

.@MCPS Students receive diplomas behind bars

BOYDS, Md. - It is graduation season for high school students across the country, but Friday was especially unique for those in Montgomery County. 

The graduates received their high school diplomas while behind bars. The Montgomery County Correctional Facility partners with Montgomery College and Montgomery County Public Schools to give inmates the same education they would get if they were not incarcerated. Family and friends came to the ceremony Friday as the graduates beamed with pride. 

"It was really great. I never felt that before in my life. I'm just thankful to be here today," said graduate Keon Taylor.

The graduates received a scholarship of up to $1,500 to attend Montgomery College when they are released. 

https://www.localdvm.com/news/i-270/students-receive-diplomas-behind-bars/1213322576

Report questions grade changes in Prince George’s

State education officials say they are deeply concerned about the findings of an investigation into alleged grade-fixing in Maryland’s second-largest school district.

An audit released Friday says almost 5,000 students graduating from Prince George’s County schools this year and last year had late grade increases after final cutoff dates.

A sampling of roughly 1,200 students from that group found that the late changes affected final grades for more than 400 students. Half of them had grade changes with no documentation, and scores more had only limited documentation.

The report also found that many graduates had unlawful absences exceeding 10 days, and that 59 were ineligible to graduate.

Investigators were unable to determine graduation eligibility for almost 300 other students, or one-fourth of the population sample, because of insufficient documentation...

http://thedailyrecord.com/2017/11/03/maryland-graduation-rates-fraud-allegations-2/

MCPS Graduation Costs Slashed

The cost of holding MCPS graduation ceremonies has dropped dramatically since 2007.

In 2007, MCPS' rental fee for DAR Constitution Hall was $5,700 per school, and the UMD Comcast Center rental was $34,000 per school.

As of 2017, both of those rental fees have dropped.

DAR Constitution Hall is down to $2,963.72 per school.

UMD Xfinity Center is down to $10,000 per school.

New Student Data Show That Half of Graduating Seniors in LA Not Eligible for California’s Public Universities

...Two years ago, the school board decided to roll back graduation requirements, allowing students to pass A–G courses with a D instead of a C. At the time, school board members feared thousands of students wouldn’t graduate. The data show that their fears were founded, as roughly 14,200 graduates, or 53 percent, earned at least one D...

https://www.the74million.org/article/new-student-data-shows-that-half-of-graduating-seniors-in-la-not-eligible-for-californias-public-universities

Larry Bowers: Let Tyler Walk! #graduation #damascus

Let Tyler Walk!

Tyler is a senior at Damascus High School and was out for 3 months in November 2015 for a total spine replacement surgery. Tyler is a special needs student in the Learning for independence program (LFI). Due to the time he missed whether it's excused or unexcused from being out for the surgery/recovery his parents were informed he will not be allowed to walk with his graduating class. 

Sign the Petition

MCPS Bans Students from Graduation Ceremonies All the Time

If you owe MCPS or your local principal cash, whether the fee charged was legal or illegal, you do not get to attend graduation.  (For example, senior dues are an illegal fee. They are not authorized by the legislature or the Board of Education, but that does not stop principals from banning students from graduation if they do not pay up.)

No cash = no cap and gown = no ceremony 

60 percent of Montgomery County graduates require remedial math courses

...The math relearning at Montgomery College can last as long as three semesters, depending on where a student is placed. But the problem is not just math. Nearly 30 percent of Montgomery County graduates need remedial English courses, and 26 percent need remedial reading classes, the figures show...

 http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/one-maryland-college-tests-a-new-approach-to-remedial-math-courses/2015/07/26/ea36318c-2b0f-11e5-bd33-395c05608059_story.html

...today in MCPS, it is almost impossible not to graduate.

Weak standards inflate graduation rate success

MCPS Says It’s Closing Achievement Gap As Graduation Rates Improve

http://www.bethesdanow.com/2015/01/27/mcps-says-its-closing-achievement-gap-as-graduation-rates-improve/

Zip Code Madness - Do You Pay More to Graduate from an MCPS High School Because of Where You Live?

Answer:  Probably.

Back in 2010, this blog did a survey of how much each high school charged for various fees related to walking down the aisle to pick up a diploma.   You can read the post here.

MCPS representatives were reported to state at a recent Taxpayers League meeting that these fees were approved by the Board of Education and consistent with MCPS policy,

Answer:  Wrong.

The state of Maryland Constitution guarantees a free public education, and the state constitution trumps MCPS policy.

You, your family, and your child cannot be charged a fee to attend the students graduation ceremony.

Yet, MCPS continues to claim this is legitimate.  We claim this is educational extortion.

We will send in for an official list of what's been "approved" so you can determine which zip codes get shaken down the most.  Last time we checked, the fees approved didn't quite match what the students were charged.

What to do if you get a bill?

Answer:  Don't pay.

What if you already sent in your money?

Answer:  Ask for a refund.  Blair HS's graduating class of 2010 got a refund because they were charged to cover the graduation speaker's honorarium.  Really.  And the speaker was the spouse of a Blair staff member.  Talk about a rip off.

And please, stay tuned to this website for more information.