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District Outperforms State, High Schools See Graduation Rate Increase

January 8, 2021

The Martin County School District earned a graduation rate of 90.2% during the 2019-2020 school year according to data released today by the Florida Department of Education. The graduation rate for the three traditional, District-operated high schools increased to 95.3% during the same time period, a 1.7 percentage point increase over last year’s rate and a 5.3 percentage point increase above the state’s overall graduation rate of 90%.

Graduation rates are based on students who finish high school "on time," within four years of entering ninth grade. In order to count as graduates, students must obtain a standard high school diploma (18 or 24 credit hours) or be enrolled in an Exceptional Student Education (ESE) program and eligible for graduation but electing to defer receipt of their diploma to return and attend school under FAPE (Free and Appropriate Public Education).

A standard Florida high school diploma requires a student to earn 18 or 24 prescribed credits, maintain a GPA of at least 2.0, and pass both the Grade 10 Florida Standards Assessment for English Language Arts (or earn a concordant score on an ACT or SAT/be eligible for an ESE assessment waiver) and the Algebra I End-of-Course Exam (or earn a comparative score on an ACT, SAT, PSAT or PERT/be eligible for an ESE assessment waiver). The Florida Standards Assessments that were scheduled to be administered in spring 2020 were canceled as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Members of the Class of 2020 were issued an assessment waiver by the Florida Department of Education, which meant that no seniors graduated with a Certificate of Completion and were instead able to receive a diploma.

“In our mission of educating all students for success, we always begin with the end in mind,” Superintendent John D. Millay shared. “We remain committed to providing each student with the effective instruction and learning opportunities he or she needs to achieve the goal of high school graduation. While we still have work to do to ensure all of our students become graduates, I remain confident that we are headed in the right direction. I am extremely proud of our students, faculty, staff and families for their hard work and commitment to achieving success.”

2019-2020 graduation rates for each Martin County school are as follows:

  • Clark Advanced Learning Center - 100%
  • Jensen Beach High School - 95.1%
  • Martin County High School - 94.5%
  • South Fork High School - 96.5%

**Graduates who attend an alternative school are included with graduates from their comprehensive high school for the purposes of reporting the graduation rate. **