Chicago Public Schools raise graduation rate to 83.4 percent
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Chicago Public Schools saw its on-time graduation rate rise to 83.4 percent for the class of 2026, a nearly one percentage point increase from the previous year.
CPS CEO Macquline King announced the new rate at Von Steuben Metropolitan Science Center, a high school in Chicago’s North Park neighborhood, and highlighted the district’s progress after a dip in 2024.
The district also reported that approximately seven out of ten CPS graduates enrolled in college, a rate higher than the national average of five in ten students from high-poverty schools. CPS has focused on increasing the number of students who earn college credit while still in high school, though officials acknowledge this approach hasn’t always been successful in boosting college enrollment or completion.
School officials shared stories of successful alumni, including Laila Mendez, a Von Steuben graduate now earning a six-figure salary as an engineer, and Gedeon Mawutodji, a Kenwood Academy alum studying to be a therapist. Von Steuben itself maintains a high graduation rate, over 93.7 percent for the class of 2026, by linking attendance to participation in popular activities like homecoming and prom.
The district’s overall graduation rate has increased by almost ten percentage points since 2018, despite a recent rise in chronic absenteeism, which remains around 40 percent.
