Florida Department of Education releases 2020 graduation data; BPS celebrates 90.3% graduation rate, the highest in its history
VIERA, Florida – The Florida Department of Education announced Thursday that the state’s high school graduation rate hit a record-high of 90 percent in 2020. Brevard Public Schools celebrated a third year of improvement in its graduation rate with 90.3 percent of Class of 2020 seniors receiving diplomas — up two percentage points from 2019 and the highest recorded rate in the district’s history.
While the increase reflects the benefit of the Florida Department of Education’s waiving of certain academic requirements last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the data shows that most schools realized improvement from last year even without intervention from the state.
“I am proud to share this exciting news with our board and our community,” said BPS Superintendent Dr. Mark Mullins. “I applaud our students for their persistence in completing their high school graduation
requirements. This historic milestone represents the work of our extraordinary teachers who remained committed to helping our kids succeed through the most challenging of times last year.”
Last month, the Superintendent shared data which showed declines in the percentage of BPS graduates who enrolled in college this fall, as well as those who returned to college for a second year.
District declines are in line with national trends and likely a result of the coronavirus.
“We are working with our schools to determine proactive steps that can be taken that further ensure our students have access to college, are encouraged to enroll, and have the support to see the process though,” continued Dr. Mullins. “Only through increased understanding of their individual pathways to success will we be able to give every one of our kids the strategies, supports and encouragement they need to make graduation and beyond an attainable reality.”
Across Florida, the Class of 2020′s graduation rate increased 3.1 percentage points from 2019.
However, amid the ongoing pandemic, approximately 7.1% of 2020 graduates earned diplomas without having passed state Algebra and English Language Arts exams.
The Florida Department of Education’s 2019-20 graduation data can be viewed HERE.
