Boston high school graduation rate reached all-time high last year

Boston Public Schools’s graduation rate increased to a record high 81.3 percent, eight percentage points behind the state’s average.

Mayor Michelle Wu spoke at a press conference at Dearborn STEM Academy held to discuss 2025 Boston Public Schools high school graduation rates in Roxbury. Jessica Rinaldi/The Boston Globe

Boston’s four-year graduation rate was the highest in the district’s history in 2025, city officials said, with more than 400 more students earning their diplomas compared to the previous year.

Boston Public Schools’s graduation rate increased to 81.3 percent, a 1.6 percent increase from 2024, data released by the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education shows.

In 2006, BPS’s graduation rate was 59.1 percent and has steadily increased to 2025’s 81.3 percent, according to the district. The state’s average four-year graduation rate is 89.3, eight points higher than Boston’s.

Boston students across all demographics saw gains in graduation rates, particularly a nearly 5 percent increase for English learners and more than 5 percent for students with disabilities.

“BPS has made important investments in strengthening instruction and student supports, expanding early college and career pathways, and addressing chronic absenteeism so students stay connected to their learning,” Superintendent Mary Skipper said in a statement. “We are encouraged by this progress.”

The 2025 graduating class was the state’s first to not be required to pass the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System, or the MCAS, in order to graduate. Instead, the state’s K-12 Statewide Graduation Council released a new framework to set statewide standards.

Mayor Michelle Wu celebrated the milestone with Skipper at Dearborn STEAM Academy in Roxbury Monday, attributing the higher graduation rate to multiple factors, including additional AP courses and new college programs, The Boston Globe reported.

“When students feel challenged, they stay engaged,” Wu said, per the Globe. “We didn’t get here by lowering any expectations for students who might be experiencing challenges or moving the goal posts and making it easier for people to get by.”

BPS’s dropout rate also fell to 3.6 percent, a 0.9 percentage point decrease, the district said. This year marked the lowest dropout rate on record, not including the “pandemic-impacted year of 2021,” BPS said. The state dropout rate dipped below 2 percent this year, the Globe reported.