The number of students graduating after four years of high school, expressed as a percentage of their cohort. A cohort is a class of ninth-graders beginning high school in the same academic year.
High school graduation is the culmination of a successful K-12 education and the gateway to college or employment. Students who do not graduate face the prospect of unemployment or low-paying jobs.
About 87% of the 2020 high school cohort in Berks County graduated on time, up 3 percentage points since 2011. This graduation rate was similar to Pennsylvania, which had a 4 percentage point increase during this period.
Some of the lowest 2020 graduation rates were in districts with high rates of students who were eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, a measure of students' socioeconomic status. These included Reading, with a graduation rate of 71%, and Antietam, 84%. The highest graduation rates were in districts where between a quarter and one-third of students were eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. These included Fleetwood, Schuylkill, Twin Valley, Tulpehocken, all with a graduation rate of 95%, Hamburg and Oley Valley (95%) and Hamburg and Oley Valley, both at 95%.
Berks County's 2020 graduation rate was similar to Lebanon, higher than Chester (86%) and lower than Schuylkill (91%), Montgomery (93%) and Lehigh (89%). Chester and Montgomery graduation rates were the same as 2011. Schuylkill increased 6 points during the same period.
Students are included in the cohort based on the year they entered Grade 9. Students are transferred in or out of cohorts if they transfer schools. Students who earn a GED or Certificate of Attainment are not counted as graduates.
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| 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pennsylvania | 83% | 84% | 86% | 85% | 85% | 86% | 87% | 86% | 87% | 87% |
| Berks County | 84% | 83% | 85% | 84% | 84% | 87% | 86% | 86% | 87% | 87% |
| Berks County Regions | ||||||||||
| Central | ||||||||||
| Northeast | ||||||||||
| South | ||||||||||
| Southeast | ||||||||||
| West | ||||||||||
| Reading city | ||||||||||
| Berks County Peers | ||||||||||
| Chester County | 86% | 84% | 81% | 84% | 79% | 80% | 83% | 84% | 85% | 86% |
| Lancaster County | 88% | 89% | 90% | 89% | 90% | 91% | 91% | 88% | 89% | 89% |
| Lebanon County | 87% | 86% | 85% | 88% | 86% | 86% | 85% | 85% | 85% | 88% |
| Lehigh County | 84% | 82% | 83% | 85% | 84% | 83% | 87% | 87% | 87% | 89% |
| Montgomery County | 93% | 92% | 93% | 93% | 94% | 94% | 93% | 92% | 93% | 93% |
| Schuylkill County | 85% | 85% | 88% | 87% | 88% | 89% | 90% | 88% | 88% | 91% |
| School Districts | ||||||||||
| Antietam School District | 90% | 78% | 87% | 92% | 90% | 85% | 90% | 87% | 79% | 84% |
| Boyertown Area School District | 92% | 93% | 92% | 91% | 90% | 93% | 95% | 94% | 93% | 93% |
| Brandywine Heights Area School District | 90% | 89% | 93% | 87% | 93% | 92% | 94% | 94% | 89% | 89% |
| Conrad Weiser Area School District | 87% | 92% | 87% | 85% | 90% | 96% | 93% | 93% | 88% | 94% |
| Daniel Boone Area School District | 89% | 89% | 88% | 84% | 90% | 90% | 88% | 92% | 96% | 93% |
| Exeter Township School District | 92% | 95% | 94% | 90% | 90% | 92% | 93% | 90% | 89% | 93% |
| Fleetwood Area School District | 96% | 92% | 93% | 95% | 88% | 96% | 97% | 96% | 96% | 96% |
| Governor Mifflin School District | 90% | 88% | 90% | 89% | 91% | 91% | 90% | 89% | 91% | 91% |
| Hamburg Area School District | 85% | 89% | 89% | 84% | 88% | 89% | 89% | 92% | 95% | 95% |
| Kutztown Area School District | 95% | 88% | 93% | 91% | 90% | 93% | 94% | 97% | 93% | 89% |
| Muhlenberg School District | 84% | 92% | 91% | 91% | 93% | 93% | 93% | 92% | 91% | 92% |
| Oley Valley School District | 91% | 91% | 89% | 86% | 96% | 92% | 94% | 98% | 95% | 95% |
| Reading School District | 61% | 61% | 67% | 71% | 62% | 70% | 67% | 67% | 71% | 71% |
| Schuylkill Valley School District | 98% | 97% | 90% | 96% | 97% | 95% | 93% | 91% | 94% | 96% |
| Tulpehocken Area School District | 95% | 92% | 98% | 93% | 91% | 88% | 88% | 92% | 92% | 96% |
| Twin Valley School District | 91% | 80% | 89% | 90% | 93% | 91% | 92% | 89% | 91% | 96% |
| Wilson School District | 93% | 91% | 89% | 91% | 91% | 96% | 90% | 97% | 96% | 93% |
| Wyomissing Area School District | 93% | 97% | 97% | 96% | 94% | 97% | 98% | 99% | 94% | 92% |
| 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pennsylvania | 126,871 | 123,599 | 123,613 | 121,357 | 117,212 | 117,619 | 118,366 | 119,765 | 119,750 | 118,941 |
| Berks County | 4,635 | 4,533 | 4,534 | 4,449 | 4,284 | 4,422 | 4,487 | 4,663 | 4,539 | 4,601 |
| Berks County Regions | ||||||||||
| Central | ||||||||||
| Northeast | ||||||||||
| South | ||||||||||
| Southeast | ||||||||||
| West | ||||||||||
| Reading city | ||||||||||
| Berks County Peers | ||||||||||
| Chester County | 6,238 | 6,358 | 6,732 | 6,880 | 6,753 | 6,440 | 6,556 | 6,803 | 6,755 | 6,705 |
| Lancaster County | 4,824 | 4,861 | 4,731 | 4,729 | 4,575 | 4,698 | 4,738 | 4,909 | 4,780 | 4,584 |
| Lebanon County | 1,270 | 1,222 | 1,276 | 1,187 | 1,213 | 1,250 | 1,209 | 1,241 | 1,271 | 1,283 |
| Lehigh County | 3,556 | 3,399 | 3,348 | 3,381 | 3,218 | 3,420 | 3,565 | 3,655 | 3,716 | 3,763 |
| Montgomery County | 7,648 | 7,908 | 7,897 | 7,701 | 7,655 | 7,705 | 7,784 | 7,829 | 8,007 | 7,861 |
| Schuylkill County | 1,376 | 1,307 | 1,335 | 1,265 | 1,237 | 1,227 | 1,178 | 1,263 | 1,244 | 1,233 |
| School Districts | ||||||||||
| Antietam School District | 72 | 76 | 60 | 57 | 66 | 55 | 61 | 78 | 55 | 61 |
| Boyertown Area School District | 529 | 526 | 523 | 541 | 469 | 486 | 533 | 520 | 501 | 477 |
| Brandywine Heights Area School District | 150 | 138 | 139 | 127 | 103 | 145 | 116 | 104 | 113 | 108 |
| Conrad Weiser Area School District | 212 | 233 | 200 | 185 | 196 | 215 | 192 | 223 | 182 | 205 |
| Daniel Boone Area School District | 275 | 266 | 244 | 243 | 270 | 252 | 271 | 285 | 282 | 254 |
| Exeter Township School District | 315 | 316 | 302 | 305 | 319 | 323 | 311 | 318 | 279 | 306 |
| Fleetwood Area School District | 180 | 193 | 186 | 195 | 172 | 216 | 198 | 189 | 192 | 205 |
| Governor Mifflin School District | 355 | 286 | 330 | 256 | 280 | 277 | 271 | 309 | 311 | 294 |
| Hamburg Area School District | 174 | 183 | 181 | 167 | 152 | 154 | 158 | 165 | 164 | 173 |
| Kutztown Area School District | 144 | 111 | 129 | 125 | 104 | 99 | 102 | 108 | 106 | 99 |
| Muhlenberg School District | 265 | 284 | 247 | 244 | 261 | 279 | 302 | 253 | 269 | 288 |
| Oley Valley School District | 149 | 150 | 127 | 120 | 164 | 115 | 123 | 140 | 140 | 129 |
| Reading School District | 737 | 716 | 723 | 765 | 642 | 700 | 702 | 743 | 806 | 838 |
| Schuylkill Valley School District | 178 | 145 | 151 | 149 | 147 | 144 | 142 | 143 | 134 | 139 |
| Tulpehocken Area School District | 134 | 129 | 114 | 113 | 77 | 91 | 96 | 103 | 100 | 114 |
| Twin Valley School District | 212 | 203 | 253 | 239 | 202 | 215 | 244 | 263 | 256 | 250 |
| Wilson School District | 165 | 141 | 147 | 157 | 156 | 153 | 149 | 167 | 161 | 158 |
| Wyomissing Area School District | 115 | 155 | 157 | 134 | 144 | 138 | 160 | 166 | 147 | 157 |
| INDICATORS | TREND | BERKS COUNTY |
|---|---|
| Students Eligible for Free/Reduced Price Lunch |  Increasing |
| Prekindergarten Participation | Increasing |
| English Language Learners | Increasing |
| Students Receiving Special Education Services | Increasing |
| Per Student Spending |  Maintaining |
| High School Cohort Graduation Rate | Increasing |
| Education Levels of Adults | Not Applicable |
| Education Levels of Adults, by Race/Ethnicity | Not Applicable |
| Brain Drain/Gain | Maintaining |
| Plans of High School Graduates | Not Applicable |
| Enrollment in Local Colleges |  Decreasing |
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