BVSD’s Graduation Rate Increases to 91.1%

BVSD Cuts Low Dropout Rate in Half, Reduces Gaps in On-Time Graduation

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BOULDER-- Boulder Valley School District’s class of 2020 edged up slightly in on-time graduation performance, posting a rate of 91.1%, an increase from the class of 2019’s 90.8% rate.  BVSD students graduated at higher than the overall state rate of 81.9%.  

Importantly, there were substantial increases for groups of students that have historically graduated at a lower rate and had declined from the class of 2018 to the class of 2019.  

“This is fantastic news, as we think about the work that we have taken on in our All Together for All Students Strategic Plan,” said BVSD Superintendent Dr. Rob Anderson. “Our schools are focused on building better supports for our disadvantaged students, including students of color, as we work to close the achievement gap in BVSD. The fact that we were able to make strides during a pandemic is amazing, but we truly believe in future years that we will continue to see growth in this area.”

Relative to a gain of 0.4 percentage points for white students and decreases for Asian students and students of two or more races, there were comparatively large gains this year by 

• American Indian students (+16.6%) 

• Black students (+11.8%) 

• Hispanic students (+1.0%)

• Students with disabilities (+5.3%) 

• Students with Limited English Proficiency (+4.8%)  

• Students who are economically disadvantaged (+2.7%)   

Please Note: BVSD’s Black and American Indian groups are quite small so use caution in making comparisons from one year to the next.  In addition, our overall results should be understood in the context of changes in group composition, such as a slightly greater 2020 proportion of female students, who graduate at a higher rate than male students and showed an increase in graduation rates (+0.9%, compared to a loss of 0.1% for males).  

On-time graduation is defined as applying to high school students who graduate within four years. 

Additional information about Graduation Rates is available from the Colorado Department of Education (CDE): https://www.cde.state.co.us/cdereval/gradratecurrent 

BVSD’s Dropout Rate decreased by half

As calculated based on all students enrolled within the district between 7th and 12th grade, BVSD's Dropout rate decreased last year from 0.8% to 0.4%, more than making up for an increase from the 2018 figure of 0.6%.  Though added caution must be applied based on the unknown impact of the pandemic on student enrollment generally, this is an all-time low for our dropout rate.  Improvements in dropout rate generally mirror those in graduation rates.   Relative to increases of 0.3 percentage points for Asian students and 0.1 percentage points for students of two or more races, and an improvement (decrease) of 0.3 percentage points for White students, there were comparatively large decreases this year by: 

• American Indian students (-2.1%) 

• Hispanic students (-0.7%)

• Students with disabilities (-0.9%) 

• Students with Limited English Proficiency (-0.6%)  

• Students who are economically disadvantaged (-1.1%)        

Dropout rates were unchanged for Black students.

Additional information about Dropout Rates is available from CDE: https://www.cde.state.co.us/cdereval/dropoutcurrent

Industry Certifications Doubled

During the 2019-2020 school year, BVSD students also earned 441 industry certificates, which were funded through CDE's Career Development Incentive Program. This is double the number earned during the 2018-19 school year.

The increase also resulted in $290,000 in incentives for BVSD. The money has been directly reinvested in our CTE programs to update equipment to industry standards and help teachers receive relevant training.

CLICK HERE for more information.
 

Students Earning College Credits

480 students earned college credits while attending high school in BVSD during the 2019-2020 school year. This is an 18 percent increase in students participating from the 2018-2019 school year. Additionally, the number of Front Range Community College (FRCC) sections offered on BVSD campuses has increased 81% over four years: from 22 to 40.

Both the industry certifications and concurrent credits are reflective of the district’s efforts to bolster post secondary readiness, in alignment with the All Together for All Students Strategic Plan.