Graduation rate dips slightly for Spokane Public Schools

Graduation rates dipped a bit for Spokane Public Schools last year, but the numbers continue to remain higher than the state average.

The state superintendent’s office this week released data showing that the four-year graduation rate for students in the state’s second-largest school district came in at 85.6 percent for the 2017 graduating class.

That may be down slightly from 86.4 percent for the previous year, but it tops the 79.3 percent state high school average.

“We are still holding steady considering the changing dynamics that happened with graduation requirements,” district spokesman Kevin Morrison said. “We just have to make sure it’s not trending in a negative direction for the long term.”

Last year’s graduation rate is 91.8 percent for the Mead School District; 78.5 percent for Central Valley; and 97.2 percent for West Valley.

Black, Latino, special-education and low-income students posted higher-than-average growth in graduation rates during the past two years.

The graduation rate for black students rose from 70.7 percent in 2016 to 71.5 percent last year, while the graduation rate for students with special needs reached 59.4 percent in 2017, up from 58.1 percent the year before.

The nation’s high school graduation rate was 84 percent for the 2015-16 school year. In Spokane, the 2017 rate was lower than 2016, but it still came in higher than the 85.5 percent rate for 2015 and 83 percent for 2014, Morrison said.

“We don’t yet have numbers for the current year. We’ll have an idea in July,” he said. “We are cautiously optimistic that we can bring it back up.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.