State university graduation rate

Students graduating from state universities within six years

Definition: Percent of all first-time, full-time, Bachelor’s degree-seeking students graduating from a state university (does not include University of Massachusetts campuses) within six years of initial enrollment.

This indicator is included in the Progress & Attainment section of the Condition of Education in the Commonwealth Data Report. A substantial number of high school graduates remain unprepared for college coursework and place into developmental (remedial) courses at college entry. Ensuring completion of academic programs at two- and four-year institutions, while providing students with marketable skills—especially in the STEM and health fields—is important to sustaining our economic productivity.

Source: Massachusetts Department of Higher Education; data provided by staff and included in VISION project report.

Low socioeconomic status: For the purposes of this report, low socioeconomic status is used as an umbrella term for such designations as: subsidy eligibility, low income, economically disadvantaged, and Pell grant recipients as defined by the Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care, Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, or Massachusetts Department of Higher Education.

The Massachusetts Department of Higher Education identifies students who are receiving Pell grants. The Federal Pell Grant Program provides need-based grants to low-income undergraduate and certain postbaccalaureate students to promote access to postsecondary education.

Source: Massachusetts Department of Higher Education.

Note: It is important for users of this data to understand that enrollment percentages and achievement data for "Pell grant recipients " students cannot be directly compared to other low income designations.

*While comparing indicators, please keep in mind that different data sources use different definitions of student subgroups.

Blog

Rethinking Grading

March 28, 2024

Schools have assessed student learning and growth with essentially the same grading system for more than a century. Since this system was created, the field has learned so much more about the way students learn, the systemic inequities embedded in the design of traditional grading and assessment, and what type of learning leads to success in life. Grading should be aligned with what we know about the learning process, child and adolescent development, and the demands of career, college, and community life. But traditional grading is so deeply ingrained in our culture, that making changes to this system can seem like an insurmountable task. That’s why we partnered with DESE and reDesign to support five unique high schools as they interrogate their traditional grading practices and make shifts toward new systems that better measure student learning and growth.