LANSING, Mich. — Data from Michigan's Center for Educational Performance and Information reported the state saw a drop in how many high school students graduated, for the first time since 2016.
According to the data, 2021 graduation rates decreased by 1.6% from 2020. That data also shows drop-out rates decreased by 0.12%.
In terms of students, this means 2,947 less Michigan high school students graduated in 2021 than 2020, and 237 less kids dropped out of school.
How are both possible at the same time?
Lauren Leeds, spokesperson for CEPI said, "In addition to reporting graduation and dropout rates, the data also includes students who are 'other completers.' Those might be students who received a GED, and we also have what we call 'off track continuing students."
Less students are dropping out of school and less students are graduating because more are going "off-track," meaning they're taking longer to graduate than the typical four-year period.
According to the CEPI data, 1,873 more students went "off track" in 2021 than in 2020.
"So of the students who were expected to graduate in four years in 2021, 10.52%, were continuing on after four years, compared to 8.87% in the class of 2020," said Leeds. "So that's almost 2% more students who were continuing on past that four years."
Lansing Public Schools new superintendent Ben Shuldiner tells FOX47 he isn't surprised by this data and believes it has to do with an exception made for students when the pandemic first hit Michigan in Spring 2020.
"If you were enrolled in Michigan in a high school in March 2020, they kind of said, 'you can just get credit, it's okay'," said Shuldiner. "And it makes sense, because hey, how do you know if you were going to pass or not? You didn't go to school for the next three months, and everything went crazy. So they kind of were really loose, but last year, the 2020-2021 year, they said, 'No, it's the regular rules.' So I'm not surprised to see the graduation rates go down, because it became harder to graduate."
That's shown by Lansing Public School's numbers.
In 2021, 116 less students graduated than the year 2020, 33 less students dropped out, and 43% more students continued "off track."
Shuldiner says a reason we may see more students taking longer to graduate in Lansing is because some kids have been sick throughout the pandemic, and some have had to help family.
"The other thing that this might be speaking to is what we would call "cleaning of the rosters," said Shuldiner. "Maybe the kid hasn't shown up, maybe the kid showed up once or twice. Maybe you're at a school district where there's a kid you would have dropped, or you would have tried to send somewhere else, but it's COVID; you have no idea what's happening with these kids."
He says Lansing Public Schools is hoping more kids will graduate this year with pandemic number improving. His team is focused on hitting the ground running next year when classes are hopefully held face-to-face for a full academic year, once again.
"Look, the real issue is going to be what are we looking at this year? " said Shuldiner. "And then what are we really looking at next year, right? The 22-23 year, that's going to be the year where you're really starting to say, either we're in or out of COVID. But we kind of know the rules now, and that'll be very fascinating to compare."
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