SchoolsTuesday, November 3
Rockford Public Schools' graduation rate hits 81% as attendance struggles continue
The Daily Rockford team
If you've got a kid in Rockford Public Schools, here's the good news first. The four-year graduation rate reached 81%, the highest since the data was tracked in this format, according to the Illinois State Report Card released Friday. That's up from 64.4% in 2021, but still below the statewide rate of 89.8%.
Rockford's graduation rate has risen five straight years
Source: Rock River Current - Illinois - Wisconsin
View as table
| Four-year graduation rate | |
|---|---|
| 2019 | 66.4% |
| 2020 | 66.9% |
| 2021 | 64.4% |
| 2022 | 65.6% |
| 2023 | 68.9% |
| 2024 | 73.5% |
| 2025 | 77.0% |
| 2026 | 81.0% |
Test results were mixed: English-Language Arts scores rose slightly while math was stagnant, and discipline incidents rose 16%, including over 15,000 in-school suspensions. Superintendent Larry Huff, who took over July 1, says the district is trying to reach parents earlier to solve problems before they get severe.
“I'm not happy with chronic absenteeism. I think that we've made a huge progress.”
- Chronic absence: over 40% missed 10% of school days or more
- Enrollment: more than 28,000 students, about 69% low-income
- Size: Illinois' third-largest school district
Rockford's report card, by the numbers
- 81%
- four-year graduation rate
- 16%
- increase in discipline incidents
- 7
- schools earned the exemplary designation, up from 3
- 11
- schools received the lowest rating