For immediate release

More Chesterfield students are graduating in four years

The on-time graduation rate for Chesterfield County Public Schools improved to

85.9 percent in 2009, up from 84.7 percent the previous year, according to figures released today by the Virginia Department of Education.

Chesterfield students continued to outperform their peers across Virginia; Virginia’s on-time graduation rate is 83.2 percent in 2009 and was 82.2 percent in 2008.

For every subset of students who entered ninth grade in the fall of 2005, Chesterfield’s on-time graduation rate improved. Here, for the classes of 2008 and 2009, are percentages of Chesterfield students graduating in four years:

2008 2009

All students 84.7 85.9

Female 88.1 88.6

Male 81.5 83.2

Black 81.7 82.5

Hispanic 68.8 71.3

White 87.3 88.5

Asian 87.0 90.4

Students with disabilities 76.1 87.5

Economically disadvantaged 69.6 71.5

Limited English proficient 53.0 65.7

Homeless 66.7 74.2

“Chesterfield students shine academically,” said Superintendent Marcus J. Newsome. “Our community has come to expect and appreciate the very best from our schools, and I am proud of our students, employees and schools.”

Students graduating on time is a key measure of success in Chesterfield County Public Schools’ Design for Excellence strategic plan, which includes strategies for increasing the percentage of students who graduate in four years with a standard or advanced diploma.

Officials cautioned against misinterpreting the data, noting that thousands of students who entered ninth grade in 2005 remain in school and continue to work toward finishing their graduation requirements. The dropout rate is not the inverse of the on-time graduation rate.

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