With nearly nine of every 10 students receiving their Dogwood diploma within six years, Abbotsford’s graduation rate sits comfortably above the provincial average.
Despite that good news, Superintendent Kevin Godden told the Abbotsford board of education Tuesday that number can rise even higher, especially when it comes to local aboriginal students.
In 2013/14, Abbotsford’s graduation rate was 88.6 per cent, seven percentage points above the provincial average, Godden told trustees as he presented the district’s annual Achievement Report.
That’s a slight dip from the 2012/13 rate of 89.8 per cent but is still above the district’s five-year average.
The aboriginal graduation rate, meanwhile, was about 75 per cent, a number that is above the provincial average but still needs improvement, Godden said.
The Achievement Report – a provincially mandated document – aims to raise the aboriginal grad rate to 90 per cent, by assisting aboriginal support staff, providing mentoring and recognizing role models for aboriginal students, and promoting “integration of indigenous knowledge into instruction and assessment practices.”
The report also showed that Abbotsford students continue to score better than the provincial average on Grade 4 reading performance evaluations and Grade 7 reading and numeracy foundational skills assessment tests.