The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools board set a new goal for the district at Tuesday night’s meeting: 85% of students who graduate on time should be on track to be enrolled, enlisted or employed by June 2029.
The district tracks this by determining whether students meet at least one of seven indicators. They include meeting grade-level proficiency and standardized test benchmarks, completing career and technical pathways, and earning industry credentials.
The 85% target is ambitious, since 72% of students met that threshold in June 2023. Superintendent Crystal Hill was optimistic about the goal and pointed out it only pertains to students who graduate on time.
“It is important that we focus on these students with the understanding that our four-year graduation rate should always be at least 90%," Hill said. "Beyond our goals, we are laser-focused on making sure all students graduate on time.”
The board first committed to setting this goal a year ago. The district spent last summer collecting more than 60,000 pieces of data to determine how to best track this metric, Hill said.
District officials said last month the number of graduates reaching this goal had dipped around two percentage points on average in each of the last five years, noting the coronavirus pandemic played a role in that. The board approved the measure unanimously.
