The Minnesota Department of Education released the class of 2021’s graduation rate data. The graduation rate for the class of 2021 was 83.3% (57,137 students), which represents a 0.5 percentage point decrease in the four year graduation rate compared to the class of 2020. The small decrease in graduation rate is driven by a 0.3 percentage point increase in the dropout rate and 0.2 percentage point increase in the unknown rate. In 2021, 3,594 students from earlier classes earned their diplomas, graduating five, six or seven years after beginning high school.
The 2020-21 school year was the first full school year impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Over the last several years, Minnesota’s four year graduation rate has been trending upward, rising from 82.5 for the class of 2016 to 83.8 for the class of 2020 and dropout rates have decreased in recent years.
MDE says this year’s graduation dip underscores the importance of ensuring Minnesota public schools have the funding and resources necessary to support all students.
