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Maine
Statistics on children, youth and families in Maine from the Annie E. Casey Foundation and the Maine Children's Alliance
High School graduation rates by county
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Note: Non-consecutive years appear adjacent in the trend line
because one or more years have been deselected.
because one or more years have been deselected.
Why This Indicator Matters
Students who graduate from high school have higher wages, lower unemployment and are less likely to need public assistance than those who do not graduate. Education Pays
What the data shows
The June 2023 state-level graduation rates are back up to previous levels, at 87.3%, after dipping to 86.1% in both June 2021 and June 2022.
By county, in 2023, both Sagadahoc and York counties had rates above 90% at 91.3% and 91.2%. Washington County was third at 89.4%. In 2023, no counties had rates below 80%. Somerset County had the lowest rate at 80.2%, followed by Androscoggin at 81.4%. Comparing 2022 and 2023, ten counties improved their graduation rates by more than 1 percentage point. The largest gains were made in Piscataquis, 76.7% to 85.9%, Franklin 75.8% to 83.8% and in Washington County 82.1% to 89.4%.
Nationally, for the most recent year data was available, the national graduation rate for 2020-2021 was 86%, the same as Maine's that year.
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What the data shows
The June 2023 state-level graduation rates are back up to previous levels, at 87.3%, after dipping to 86.1% in both June 2021 and June 2022.
By county, in 2023, both Sagadahoc and York counties had rates above 90% at 91.3% and 91.2%. Washington County was third at 89.4%. In 2023, no counties had rates below 80%. Somerset County had the lowest rate at 80.2%, followed by Androscoggin at 81.4%. Comparing 2022 and 2023, ten counties improved their graduation rates by more than 1 percentage point. The largest gains were made in Piscataquis, 76.7% to 85.9%, Franklin 75.8% to 83.8% and in Washington County 82.1% to 89.4%.
Nationally, for the most recent year data was available, the national graduation rate for 2020-2021 was 86%, the same as Maine's that year.
Definition and Source
PROVIDER
Definition
The number and percent of youth by county who graduate in 4 years from public schools and 60% publicly funded private schools. The numerator is the number of students graduating in the state in 4 years and the denominator includes the cohort of ninth grade students 4 years prior plus all transfers in and all transfers out.
Data Source
Special data request to the Maine Department of Education for high school graduation aggregated by the county.
Source for national comparisons, KIDS COUNT 2020-2021 Not graduating on time
Source for national comparisons, KIDS COUNT 2020-2021 Not graduating on time
Notes
The year refers to the year of graduation, so 2023 is the 2022-2023 school year. In this series, the calculation is at the student level rather than the school level. This makes it "weighted". For example, suppose a county had 3 schools, one with 300 ninth graders and two small schools with 20 ninth graders each. If 70% of the students graduated at the large school and 95% at the two other schools, the student average would be (300x70%)= 210 graduates plus 19 + 19 graduates, so the "weighted average would be 248/340 = 72.9% for the county.
The data for the series 2009 -2013 is unweighted. This means it averages all the individual school graduation rates in a county, rather than taking all the ninth graders in the county and how many of that cohort graduated 4 years later. In the above example, the graduation rates of the three schools would be averaged (70% +95% +95%)/3 = 86.6%. 86.6% would be the unweighted average.
The data for the series 2009 -2013 is unweighted. This means it averages all the individual school graduation rates in a county, rather than taking all the ninth graders in the county and how many of that cohort graduated 4 years later. In the above example, the graduation rates of the three schools would be averaged (70% +95% +95%)/3 = 86.6%. 86.6% would be the unweighted average.
Last Updated
March 2024