Charles County Public Schools posted a four-year graduation rate of 90.32 percent for the Class of 2025, surpassing the Maryland statewide average of 86.44 percent for the fifth straight year, according to data released this week by the Maryland State Department of Education.
The 2025 cohort rate edged down slightly from 90.47 percent in 2024 but kept Charles County well above the state mark of 86.44 percent. The district’s dropout rate stood at 5.45 percent, nearly half the statewide average of 9.87 percent.
North Point High School led county schools with a rate above 95 percent, followed by La Plata High School at 94.77 percent, Westlake High School at 91.12 percent, Maurice J. McDonough High School at 90.57 percent, St. Charles High School at 89.4 percent, Henry E. Lackey High School at 85.45 percent and Thomas Stone High School at 82.32 percent.
The five-year graduation rate, which accounts for students needing an extra year, rose to 92.4 percent for the cohort measured in 2024, up from 91.8 percent the prior year.
Superintendent Maria V. Navarro, Ed.D., credited ongoing monitoring and intervention programs for the strong outcomes. “We routinely monitor the achievement and path of all students toward high school graduation. This includes reviewing student-specific tracking reports in Synergy, to working with teachers and staff to identify students who may need additional academic support, such as grade or course recovery. We want all students to graduate on time with their peers and be college or career ready upon leaving CCPS. I am proud of the work our educators put into ensuring students are ready to become successful adults,” Navarro said.
Charles County uses the Synergy student information system for real-time tracking, offers grade and course recovery options, provides summer support sessions and allows qualified middle school students to earn high school credits early to stay on pace for four-year graduation.
Staff will deliver a detailed presentation on graduation trends and improvement strategies to the Board of Education of Charles County during its February 10 meeting at the Jesse L. Starkey Administration Building in La Plata.
Complete graduation and dropout data for each Charles County high school appear on the Maryland Report Card website maintained by MSDE.
The four-year cohort calculation follows students from ninth grade through expected senior year, adjusting for transfers and other documented exits. Maryland has reported cohort rates since the metric replaced older formulas more than a decade ago to provide uniform accountability across districts.
Charles County’s sustained performance above 90 percent places it among the higher-achieving systems in Southern Maryland and reflects targeted efforts launched years ago to reduce barriers for at-risk students, including expanded counseling, alternative pathways and credit recovery initiatives implemented districtwide.