Michigan Graduation Rates Are Mostly Unchanged

Mike Wilkinson / The Detroit News

Three-quarters of Michigan's students are graduating high school within four years, according to new data from the state that reveals few changes from 2007, yet shows no gains in the high drop-out rates among the state's minority students.

An estimated 75.5 percent of students who entered high school in 2004 graduated in 2008, according to the report, nearly identical to the class of 2007. The drop-out rate fell slightly, from 15.1 percent to 14.2 percent.

But more than a quarter of black and Hispanic students continued to drop out, though the graduation rate of Hispanics rose to 60.3 percent, up from 57.8 percent.

For the past two years, the state has adopted a new formula for calculating graduation and drop-out rates that experts say better reflects reality. It tracks students who transfer and takes migration into account.

The Detroit Public Schools, which has had one of the worst graduation rates in the country, saw 58.2 percent of the class of 2008 graduate, down slightly from 58.4 in 2007.

Among the largest districts in the area, the Utica Community Schools graduation rate rose to 91.7 percent, up from 90.6; Livonia was 89.8 from 90.2; Plymouth-Canton dropped to 85.7 from 87.5 percent; and Rochester went down to 92.4 from 93.4 percent.

mwilkinson@detnews.com (313) 222-2563