Michigan high school graduation rates improved to pre-COVID levels in 2022

Michigan's four-year graduation rate climbed last year, but so did the number of student's dropping out of high school, according to 2022 state education data released Friday.

At the same time, the graduation rate for students in the Detroit public school system jumped 6.5 percentage points — far outpacing the state's rate of improvement.

Michigan's four-year graduation rate was 81.01% for the 2021-2022 school year — an increase of 0.54 percentage points from the 2020-21 school year, according to the Michigan Center for Educational Performance and Information.

The state's four-year dropout rate was 8.19%, a 0.54 percentage point increase from the 2020-21 school year, but lower than rates for pre-COVID 2017-18 and 2018-19 school years.

Graduation rates increased for several student groups, state officials said. The rate for African American students rose the most of any racial or ethnic group, increasing 2.53 percentage points to 70.13%. Early middle college students had the largest year-to-year increase of the student groups the state tracks, with a four-year graduation rate that jumped to 84.36% from 79.78% — a 4.58 percentage point increase, state officials said. (Early middle college students are enrolled in five-year programs to earn a high school diploma as well as transferable college credits, an associate degree or a professional certification.)

State Superintendent Michael Rice said improving graduation rates are a positive sign that Michigan schools are beginning to recover from some of the adverse impacts of the pandemic. Four-year graduation rates for 2021-22 were similar to pre-COVID graduation rates.

"While we continue to have a great deal of work to do in this area, particularly with respect to gaps among different groups, rising graduation rates are welcome and a testament to the hard work of students and staff," Rice said in a statement.

In Detroit, high school graduation rates for the Detroit Public School Community District increased to 71.% from 64.5%.

DPSCD's dropout rate declined by 0.6% from 14.5% to 13.8%, district officials said.

Nikolai Vitti, DPSCD superintendent, said the improvement is a testament to the district's continued commitment to improve the high school experience for its students.

"Although we still have a lot of work to do in this area, I am proud of the strategic and intentional work of our high school district team, high school principals, and their staff," Vitti said in a statement. "The course recovery work, especially as a product of the pandemic, has been grueling for staff and students but everyone refused to make excuses and our students benefited by graduating in four years."

Officials said 20 of the district's 23 high school improved their graduation rates, including at least five schools with double-digit increases: West Side Academy with a 25.6 percentage point increase, Mumford High School with 21.1 percentage points, Denby High School with 16.2 percentage points, Central High School with 15.2 percentage points and Academy of the Americas High School with an 11.3 percentage point increase.

Graduation and dropout rates by school and district can be found on CEPI's MI School Data website (www.mischooldata.org)

jchambers@detroitnews.com