Montgomery Co.'s Graduation Rate Rises to 90 Percent

The recent NBC special series “Education Nation” looked at ways to improve education in America. While there’s a lot of work to do, there are bright spots.

Take Montgomery County public schools.

The graduation rate for the class of 2010 soared to 90 percent, according to school officials. That’s an increase of 2.5 percent over the class of 2009. 

The growth was spurred by dramatic gains among African-American students.

By comparison, the graduation rate for the state of Maryland last semester was 86.6 percent.

“This is outstanding news for our district. More of our students are graduating on time with the knowledge and skills they need to be successful,” said Patricia O’Neill, president of the Montgomery County Board of Education.

The class of 2010 has another reason to be proud. 

According to school officials, the group had the best SAT performance in the county’s history, scoring a 1,653. That’s an increase of 38 points over the previous year. They also earned more than $234 million in college scholarships – another record. That included 62 National Merit Scholarship winners.

“This is perhaps the best prepared class in MCPS history,” said Superintendent Jerry D. Weast. “We not only had more graduates, but we have more young men and women who are prepared for the rigors of college and the workplace.”

Eight high schools had graduation rates greater than 95 percent, the highest belonging to Poolesville High School (99.3 percent), Winston Churchill High School (98.2 percent) and Thomas S. Wootton High School (97.8 percent).

Hey, class of 2011 -- can you top that!?!  


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