Colorado students continue to make progress in graduating while dropout rates decline across the state.

The Colorado Department of Education released student graduation and dropout data from the 2023-24 school year this week that showed four-year graduation rates improving by 1.1% up to 84.2%. The total marks the state’s highest in more than a decade, according to the department.

A total of 58,318 Colorado students graduated in four years in the 2023-24 school year, an increase of 1,506 over last year.

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Statewide dropout rates are declining, with 718 fewer students dropping out compared to last year for a total of 8,947 dropouts in grades 7-12. The .02% decrease continues the decline from the high mark of 2.2% in 2021-22. last school year’s 1.9% rate still trails the state’s historic low of 1.8% achieved in the 2019-20 and 2020-21 school years.

Despite the progress, CDE noted that certain student groups like homeless, migrant, multilingual students and students of color continue to lag behind the statewide graduation rate. While dropout rates for those same groups are higher than the state average.

Data indicated that students in foster care, multilingual learners, students from migrant families, students experiencing homelessness and students identified as Hawaiian/Pacific Islander drop out at more than twice the statewide rate while Hispanic or American Indian/Alaskan Native students are more than three times as likely as white students to drop out.

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“While we are seeing promising progress, we are continuing to see our students of color and our students with the highest needs graduating below our statewide rates,” said Education Commissioner Susana Córdova in a press release.

“I am encouraged by the momentum of our state’s multiyear improvements, especially in the gaps that are closing, and we also must do more to keep students engaged in meaningful learning experiences that prepare them for success after graduation.”

The department provides an interactive web dashboard to explore graduation and completion rates on a statewide, district and school level, available here. 

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