State High School graduation rates by priority populations in Maine

All youth deserve to have access to a quality education. Students are low income, have disabilities or are learning English have additional barriers to graduation.  Students who graduate from high school have higher wages, lower unemployment and are less likely to need public assistance than those who do not graduate. Their long-term physical and mental health is also better if they graduate from high school.

What the data shows
In 2019, Maine had graduation rates above the national average  for students with disabilities at 73.0% versus the US 2017 rate of 67.1%.  For English language learners, Maine's 2019 high school graduation rate in 4 years of  79.8% exceed the national rate of 66%.  For economically disadvantaged students the rate in Maine was about the same as national rates at 78.5% . Se National Trends in HS Graduation 

The trend in Maine for economically disadvantaged students and for English language learners is a positive one with more students graduating in 4 years each year, comparing 2015 to 2019 for both categories.  For students with disabilities and in special education classes, the 2019 rate of 73.0% is below the rates for low income and for English Language Learners but above the rates for students who are homeless (62.0%) or in foster care, (47.6%).  While the rates of graduation for students who experienced homelessness in their senior year has been going up, the rate for youth in foster care was 8 percentage points lower this year than last  year.

All youth deserve to have access to a quality education. Students are low income, have disabilities or are learning English have additional barriers to graduation.  Students who graduate from high school have higher wages, lower unemployment and are less likely to need public assistance than those who do not graduate. Their long-term physical and mental health is also better if they graduate from high school.

What the data shows
In 2019, Maine had graduation rates above the national average  for students with disabilities at 73.0% versus the US 2017 rate of 67.1%.  For English language learners, Maine's 2019 high school graduation rate in 4 years of  79.8% exceed the national rate of 66%.  For economically disadvantaged students the rate in Maine was about the same as national rates at 78.5% . Se National Trends in HS Graduation 

The trend in Maine for economically disadvantaged students and for English language learners is a positive one with more students graduating in 4 years each year, comparing 2015 to 2019 for both categories.  For students with disabilities and in special education classes, the 2019 rate of 73.0% is below the rates for low income and for English Language Learners but above the rates for students who are homeless (62.0%) or in foster care, (47.6%).  While the rates of graduation for students who experienced homelessness in their senior year has been going up, the rate for youth in foster care was 8 percentage points lower this year than last  year.