Ends%202.1%20Part%202%20Monitoring%20Report%20March%202025%20.pdf

Parent document: Regular Board Meeting and Study Session-04-17-2025.pdf

Text

BELLINGHAM SCHOOL DISTRICT
Bellingham, Washington

MEMORANDUM

TO: Board of Directors

FROM: Dr. Greg Baker, Superintendent
DATE: March 13, 2025

SUBJECT: Ends Monitoring Report 2.1, Part 2

lam pleased to submit this Ends monitoring report to the school district’s board of directors.
Our process for reporting on Ends 2.1 during the 2024-25 school year began with the previously
submitted Ends 2.1, Part 1 report at the February 13, 2025, meeting. This report focuses on
evidence of student advancement toward on-time or extended graduation and reduction in drop-
out rates as well as students’ participation in post-secondary education and career preparation
in comparison to peer districts. Our final Ends report for this year on the vision, mission and
outcomes in The Bellingham Promise (Ends 1, 2 and 3) will be presented at the May 15, 2025,
meeting.

Introduction

The first section of the report explores the graduation rates of Bellingham students, both on time
and extended, highlighting trends in overall student drop-out rates as well as those within
specific subgroups. Additionally, it compares the graduation trends of Bellingham Public
Schools (BPS) with those of demographically similar districts. The second section delves into
trends in college preparatory and career and technical preparatory course enrollments. The
report’s final section focuses on the post-secondary enrollment rates of Bellingham students,
examining their participation in higher education, including both two-year and four-year
institutions.

We include comparisons with Bellevue, Olympia and Shoreline school districts as the small
group of high-bar peer districts whose populations of students eligible for free/reduced priced
meals fall below those eligible in our district.

Language included in the revised Ends 2.1 policy focuses us on comparing progress to districts
that are demographically like Bellingham, as well as to districts whose students typically
outperform our students on the standardized test. The Ends 2.1 policy follows:

STUDENT COMPETENCE

Ends 2.1: Consistent with the district Vision and Mission, all children of the
Bellingham Public Schools community will attain high academic
achievement, develop essential skills and attributes necessary for
continuous growth in learning, and graduate from high school ready for


participation in post-secondary education and career opportunities. All
students will succeed and grow regardless of ethnicity, socio-economic
status, English language proficiency or disabilities.

1. Every student’s achievement, skills and attributes will show
continuous significant growth, and measures will exceed the
Washington state benchmarks and be high performing relative to
similar students in demographically comparable districts, as
measured by state assessments and other available data, as
appropriate.

2. Gaps in achievement, skills and attributes between groups of
students will close. For state or federally identified student
populations, any gap in achievement will be eliminated, and annual
achievement will be greater than that of similar students in
demographically comparable districts.

3. Every student will make continuous advancement toward graduation.
Measures of on-time and extended graduation attainment will be
high performing relative to similar students in demographically
comparable districts.

4. After graduation, student participation in post-secondary education
and career preparation shall increase and exceed participation in
comparison to demographically comparable districts.

While being held accountable to our demographically comparable districts,
we also continue to compare our progress to other district, state and
national data that offer a more comprehensive view of student
competence.

In this Part 2 report, we focus on numbers three and four above.

Section 1: High School Graduation Trends

Figure 1 displays big picture data on overall graduation rates of students in Bellingham over
time, compared with other districts. Specifically, this graph displays the graduation rates for the
five-year adjusted cohorts of the class of 2013 and class of 2023 for Bellingham and 38
demographically comparable or high-bar peer districts and Washington State. This is the same
group of comparable districts we relied on for comparisons in the report on Ends 2.1, part 1
earlier this year.

Over this period of a decade, graduation rates for Bellingham students increased from 84
percent in 2013 to 90 percent in 2023 which puts our district 5 percentage points above the state
average, and still below high bar peer districts Shoreline (95 percent), Olympia (93 percent) and
Bellevue (95 percent). We continue to track each cohort of students out into the seventh year of
high school to assess the progress toward ensuring graduation for all, regardless of timeline.


Figure 1. 5-Year Adjusted Graduation Rates for 2013 and 2023

Class of 2023 5-Year Graduation Rates
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Figure 2 displays the four-year and extended graduation rates for Bellingham, our three high-bar
peer districts and Washington state. The most recent seven-year cohort (class of 2021) attained
a 91 percent graduation rate. As noted above, our five-year rate improved by 1 percent in year-
over-year comparison, from 89 to 90 percent. The six-year rate also improved by 1 percentage
point in comparison to the prior year, moving from 89 to 90 percent.

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Figure 2. Trends in Graduation Rates for Districts and WA State

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Graduating Class by School District

Figure 3 graphs four-year and five-year cohorts’ graduation rates (green), rates for students
continuing progress toward graduation (yellow) and dropout rates (red) over the past seven years
for Bellingham and Washington state. The four-year graduation rate for Bellingham students
increased from 85 to 89 percent in year-over-year comparison, while the state average dropped
by 1 percentage point (from 84 percent in 2023 to 83 percent in 2024). The five-year rate in
Bellingham increased a percentage point while the five-year rate for the state decreased by
1percentin year-over-year comparisons. Year-over-year dropout rates decreased by a pointin
Bellingham and held steady across the state.


Figure 3. Graduation and Dropout Rate Trends for Bellingham and WA State

4-Year Cohort 4-Year Cohort

Bellingham Public Schools 100 Washington State

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Graduating Classes Graduating Classes

We also continue to examine the extended graduation trends for four larger Bellingham student
subgroups. Figure 4 displays extended graduation rate trends over the past 11 years for
Bellingham’s multilingual learners (MLL), students identifying as Hispanic/Latinx, students
served in special education with an Individualized Education Program (IEP) and students from
low income households. Four-year and six-year rates for students identified as low income hit
new highs this year. The four-year rate for students identified as low income improved to 84
percent, and the six-year rate hit 86 percent, both new highs for this subgroup. Four-year
graduation rates for June of 2024 for students served in special education and Hispanic/Latinx
students also improved in year-over-year comparisons. The five-year rate for multilingual
learners improved to a new high (80 percent), at the same time the four-year rate for this group
dropped by 6 percent. In addition to the internal comparisons over time, we examined gaps
between contrasting subgroups of students compared with the overall statewide picture.


Figure 4. Extended Graduation Rates Trends for Bellingham Student Subgroups

Percent of Students by Class

Percent of Students by Class

Graduation Rates for Multilingual Learners

@4-Year Cohort M5-Year Cohort M6-Year Cohort M7-Year Cohort

100

90

80

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40

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Graduation Rates for Students with IEPs

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Graduation Rates for Hispanic/Latinx Students

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Graduating Classes

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Graduation Rates for Low Income

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Graduating Classes

Figure 5 shows the graduation gap between Bellingham’s multilingual and non-multilingual
learners significantly decreased in year-over-year comparisons, while the gap across the state
remained flat.

5-Year Graduation Rate

Figure 5. Gap Trends in 5-Year Graduation Rates — Multilingual vs. Non-Multilingual Learners

100

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20

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While it is great to observe this dramatic decrease in the multilingual graduation gap, we
recognize that, given the relatively small n size of our Bellingham MLL population, this gap has
varied in year-over-year comparisons over the time we have tracked these trends. This is also
true of the graduation gap between Hispanic/Latinx and non-Hispanic/Latinx Bellingham
students (Figure 6) which went the other direction this year, increasing to 13 percent from 6
percent in year-over- year comparison, while the state gap also increased by a percentage point.

Figure 6. Gap Trends in 5-Year Graduation Rates — Hispanic/Latinx vs. White

Bellingham Public Schools Washington State
—Hispanic/Latinx White ——Hispanic/Latinx ——= White
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This gap also tends to fluctuate given the group size for Hispanic/Latinx students locally, but
over the 2020-2022 cohorts, the gap reduced slightly each year, so to see an increase in that gap
again this year is counter to that positive trend and caught our attention. The five-year rate for
Hispanic/Latinx students in 2023 dipped below the 80 percent mark for the first time since the
class of 2017 and positioned our district below the state average by comparison.

Figure 7 shows that the graduation gap between groups of Bellingham graduates identified as
low income and non-low income increased from 9 to 11 percent in year-over-year comparison,
while the gap remained approximately 13 percent across the state.


Figure 7. Gap Trends in 5-Year Graduation Rates — Low Income vs. Non-low Income

Bellingham Public Schools Washington State
—— Low Income ——=Non-Low Income = <@97T owlncome = _Non-Low Income
100 100
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‘17 18 19 '20 21 22 '23 17 ‘18 19 '20 21 '22 '23

Figure 8 shows the graduation gap between students served in special education and those
without widened in year-over-year comparisons from 29 percent in 2022 to 33 percent among
our students in the class of 2023, while statewide, this gap also widened slightly. It is concerning
to observe the five-year gap increase for the 2023 cohort subgroup of students.

Figure 8. Gap Trends in 5-Year Graduation Rates — With and Without IEPs

Bellingham Public Schools Washington State
——With IEPs —— Without IEPs —— With IEPs —— Without IEPs
100 100
—_ 93 — — — 94
2 92 —= 93 —= 93 == 93 —— g] —= 92 —= 2 85 == 86 ——= 86 —= 88 — 88 —= 88 — 88
e 80 3 80 =e
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‘17 ‘18 19 '20 "21 '22 '23 ‘17 '18 19 '20 ‘21 '22 '23

However, itis also important to recall the data on the four-year and six-year cohorts of students
served in special education noted positive results. The four-year graduation rate of 67 percent
for the class of 2024 is the highest noted for any cohort of students with IEPs in the last 10 years,
and the six-year rate of 72 percent equaled the highest mark during that same period. Also
notable is the fact that our seven-year graduation rate for students served in special education
once again held above 85 percent.


We again assessed the impact of the intersection of income level on graduation rates for the
various student cohorts. Figure 9 displays five-year graduation rates for all Bellingham students
(upper left) and subgroups identifying as Asian, Hispanic/Latinx, two or more races, White,
students served in special education, students not served in special education and multilingual
learners each broken down by low income and non-low income household identification. Data
reveal that income gaps in graduation rates exist for most subgroups; if a student is from a low
income household, that factor alone has a tangible negative predictive impact on graduation
chances. As noted in Figure 9, overall, 95 percent of students identified as non-low income and
84 percent of students identified as low income graduated in 2023 in our district. Data from two
of these comparisons stood out as not following this trend.

Figure 9. Intersection of Income with 5-year Graduation Rates — BPS Student Subgroups

All Students Students without IEPs Students with IEPs Multilingual Learners
100 100 100 100
80 80 80 80
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2 60 60 60 67 60
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Not Low Low Income Not Low Low Income Not Low Low Income Not Low Low Income
Income Income Income Income
White Asian Hispanic or Latinx Two or More Races
100 100 100 100
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Income Income Income Income

We observed in Asian and MLL subgroups that the group of students identified as low income
had higher graduation rates than their non-low income peers. Going a little deeper, these
differences, again, we attributed to the small n size of the groups. For MLL students, the non-low
income group comprised 11 students, of which three students did not graduate, while the low
income group had 11 of 63 students who did not graduate. For the Asian student subgroup, two
students in the non-low income group did not graduate while only one in the low income group
did not graduate.

Finally, as we look forward to analysis of graduation rates in 2025 and beyond, it may be
important for the board to understand what is occurring with state and district credits needed for

9


graduation and available graduation credit waivers. Washington state requires 24 credits to be
earned for conveyance of a high school diploma. Because of our enhanced eight period
schedule in Bellingham, our high school credits required for graduation and the conveying of the
diploma have totaled 30 for every class since the class of 2021. Students must earn a total of 30
credits (out of 32 possible course credit slots over their four-year high school experience - 8
classes per year x 4 years) to graduate from Bellingham Public Schools.

During the period following the pandemic, the Washington State Board of Education granted a
special two-credit waiver called the Graduation Requirement Emergency Waiver (GREW). GREW
has been available as a last resort for students whose education was impacted by the COVID-19
pandemic to petition for up to a two-credit waiver in their graduation requirements, but not more
than one credit in each core subject area. The state implemented the GREW waiver in 2021 and
the 2.0 credits were available to students who petitioned to use these in their total credits
toward graduation in the classes of 2021, 2022 and 2023. Only one credit in the form of a GREW
waiver was allowed for the class of 2024.

Starting with the class of 2025, the GREW waiver is no longer available. We envision there may
be some impact on graduation rates as a result, but it is difficult to predict what the amount of
impact will be. We know, for example, while fewer than 10 percent of our students in the class of
2024 accessed the one credit GREW waiver, the availability of that one GREW credit probably
did contribute to our four-year graduation rates continuing to rise. But, in the three prior years
(2021-23), when students could access up to two GREW credits, our four-year graduation rate
was never as high as it was for the 2024 class. So, while we think there will be some impact when
these waivers are completely gone next year, we just aren’t sure how to predict what it will be.

Section 2: Preparation for Post-High-School Opportunities

Section 2 examines the numerous ways students are preparing for post-high-school
opportunities through completion of dual credit coursework that provides a head start into
college and/or enrollment in career and technical coursework that could lead to additional
schooling or career opportunities. Figure 10 displays the breakdown of dual credit course
attainment by type of course - Advanced Placement (AP), Career and Technical Education (CTE),
College in the High School (CIHS) and Running Start - for Bellingham and Washington state.

10


Figure 10. Percent Completing Dual Credit by Course Type

Bellingham - Percent Completing Dual Credit by Course Type

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18 20 20

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40 36 35 37
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11 10 12 ,
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Advanced Placement CTE Dual Credit College in HS Running Start

Percent Completing a Dual Credit Course

2017 2018 ©2019 ©2020 02021 82022 2023 2024

Washington State - Percent Completing Dual Credit by Course Type

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Advanced Placement CTE Dual Credit College in HS Running Start

Percent Completing a Dual Credit Course

Statewide trends examined also revealed steady or slight gains in every category of course type.
For Bellingham students, Advanced Placement (AP) course completion increased 2 percent
between 2023 and 2024, the third annual year-over-year increase we have observed in a rowin
that category. Career and Technical Education (CTE) dual credit course completion remained
constant, down just a percentage point from the prior year to 54 percent, as did College in the
High School (CIHS) course taking, which held steady at 20 percent year-over-year. As a district,
our students’ completion of dual credit courses, as noted in Figure 11, places us above the state
and peer districts Lynden and Olympia and below Bellevue and Shoreline.

11


Figure 11. Trends in High School Students Completing Dual Credit Courses

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We were curious to see that Running Start participation decreased by 4 percent for Bellingham
students (as noted in Figure 10), consistent with a trend that shows Running Start participation
down by nearly half compared with eight years ago. This drop caused a deeper conversation with
high school counselors and career pathways specialists. We were interested to know their
perspectives on the cause for the decline and whether students are pursuing fewer dual credit
offerings or simply that their access has shifted to different dual credit options within our
system.

The eight-period schedule created the opportunity for additional access to CIHS, AP courses
and CTE dual-credit courses. To be clear, we think it is a good thing that we have more
opportunities within our students’ high school schedule for these dual credits to be earned while
they are enrolled with us. And the sense is that this combination of eight periods with more dual
credit access has contributed to fewer students accessing classes through Running Start off
campus. Further, during the pandemic, many students expressed a preference for college online
classes over high school online classes. Counselors suggest that post-pandemic, many
students were motivated to return to in-person learning in their home schools. Other students
express enjoyment over being at their high schools due to the variety of classes, clubs and
groups available.

Last year, we reported on the effects of House Bill 1599 that passed into law, which decoupled
statewide assessments from graduation requirements. By way of reminder, to graduate from
high school in Washington, students must complete: 1) a High School and Beyond Plan (HSBP);
2) the credit and subject area requirements; and 3) a graduation pathway option, along with any
other local requirements. The State Board of Education has defined the following pathways for
graduation, and students must meet at least one of these pathway options:

12


1. State Assessment: Meet or exceed the graduation scores in the Smarter Balanced
Assessments (SBA) in English language arts (ELA) and mathematics or in WA-AIM
(Washington Access to Instruction & Measurement).

2. Dual Credit: Earn at least one high school credit in ELA and at least one high school
credit in math in dual credit courses (Running Start, College in the High School and/or
Career and Technical Education dual credit courses).

3. AP/IB/Cambridge: For both ELA and math, earn a 3 or higher on certain Advanced
Placement (AP) exams or a 4 or higher on certain International Baccalaureate (IB) exams
or anE oncertain Cambridge International exams, or pass the course with at least a C+.

4. SAT/ACT: Meet or exceed the graduation scores set by the Washington State Board of
Education in the math and ELA portions of the SAT or ACT.

5. Transition Course: Pass a transition course in ELA and math (for example, a Bridge to
College course) which allows a student to place directly into a credit-bearing college
level course.

6. Performance-based': This student-centered pathway is customizable, aligned with a
student’s individual goals for life after high school, with the aim of being relevant and
engaging to the student. The performance-based path can take a variety of forms
including a culminating project, practicum, work-related experience, community service
or cultural activity which can be evaluated through a performance, presentation, report,
film or exhibit. This experience may or may not be done as a part of aclass where the
student also earns credit.

7. Combination: Meet any combination of at least one ELA and one math option of those
options listed in 1-6.

8. ASVAB: Meet standard on the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) by
scoring at least the minimum established by the military for eligibility to serve in a branch
of the armed services.

9. CTE Sequence: Complete a sequence of Career and Technical Education (CTE) courses.

These pathways must align with the students’ postsecondary goals as described in their HSBP
and provide students with multiple avenues to show readiness for their individual education and
career goals. Figure 12 displays graduation pathways data from Bellingham’s graduating class of
2024, noting whether a student completed one of the ELA/Math pathways, a CTE course
pathway or no pathway. Data are presented by percentage in categories for students overall and
for student subgroups. What these data reveal for the class of 2024 overallis that 72 percent of
Bellingham students completed an ELA/Math pathway and 73 percent completed a CTE
pathway. Students identified as low income, served in special education, multilingual, Black,
Hispanic/Latinx or as two or more races all completed a CTE graduation pathway at a higher rate
than an ELA/Math pathway.

1 Bellingham Public Schools have not adopted the performance-based pathway to date. Based on a soon-to-be
released legislative report from OSPI, across the State in 2024, there were 82 students who used the performance-
based pathway in ELA and 100 students who did so in math.

13


Figure 12. 2024 Graduation Pathways Data for BPS Grade 12:
All Students and Students from Low Income Households

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Higher percentages of multilingual learners (32 percent), students served in special education
(15 percent) and Hispanic/Latinx students (15 percent) were noted as having made no
graduation pathway choice. These numbers are of concern and merit our further attention to
ensure that all students can access a pathway toward graduation.

As we have reported in prior years, completion of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid
(FAFSA) application for student aid is predictive of college attendance at a national level. For
some students this is a critical hurdle that jumpstarts their thinking about post-secondary
options. FAFSA completion still lags pre-pandemic levels but is showing some signs of recovery
for our students locally. Figure 13 shows the percentage of expected high school graduates from
Bellingham, select districts and Washington state who completed a FAFSA application each
year. Year-over-year comparisons show Bellingham students’ FAFSA completion up 2 percent.
Olympia and Shoreline students FAFSA completion was also up slightly, while Lynden, Bellevue
and overall Washington state participation dropped in year-over-year comparisons.

14


Figure 13. FAFSA Completion Rate for Districts and Washington State

64 = a as
59 60 61
26 / 54
48
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Bellingham Bellevue Lynden Olympia Shoreline State

m2017 m2018 j© 2019 ©2020 ©2021 ©2022 ©2023 2024

rR
& n ca So
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Percent of Seniors Completing an Application

Section 3: College Attendance and Perseverance

As students leave our system and head into post-secondary institutions, we follow their
pathways and report on that data annually in this report. Figure 14 displays a graphic
representation of the 10 year trend in the percentage of Bellingham students enrolled in two-
and four-year post-secondary institutions during their first year after high school graduation.
Bellingham graduates’ overall total enrollment in post-secondary institutions is not yet back to
pre-pandemic levels but improved in year-over-year comparison from 56 percent in 2023 to 58
percent in 2024. All this increase is accounted for by an increase in our graduates’ four-year
college going rate. Four-year college enrollment significantly improved this past fall to 46
percent of Bellingham graduates overall, hitting the highest mark since we started reporting this
data 10 years ago. Two-year college enrollment dropped steeply after the pandemic and has yet
to recover; 11 percent of 2024 graduates headed into two-year schools, a 1 percent decrease
over 2023.

Itis also noteworthy that a small percentage of graduates do not enrollin the fall of their first
post-secondary year but do enroll at some point during the remainder of that first year.

15


Figure 14. BPS Graduates’ First Year Post-Secondary Enrollment by Institution Type

100

80

71 nee 65 meet 6G mes 5 me GE

Percent of High School Graduates

2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Grads Grads Grads Grads Grads Grads Grads Grads Grads Grads

Mmmm 2-Year College Mlli4-Year College % Total Fall Enroll =li=Total Enroll in 1st Year

For the class of 2024, 57 percent of graduates enrolled in either two- or four-year options in the
fall after their graduation, and another 1 percent joined at some point during the first year.

Figure 15 displays the percentage of Bellingham students enrolled in two- and four-year post-
secondary institutions two years after graduation. We observed four-year college- going rates
decreased (48 percent for the 2022 class to 42 percent for the 2023 class), as well as an overall one
percent decrease in students enrolling in a two-year college (18 percent for the 2022 class to 17 percent
for the 2023 class). However, two years after graduation for the class of 2022, we observed an

Figure 15. BPS Graduates’ Enrolled in College at Any Time During the First Two Years After
High School by Institution Type

100
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20
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2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Grads Grads Grads Grads Grads Grads Grads Grads Grads Grads

™2-Year College ™4-YearCollege % All Institutions

16


increase in enrollment in the second year. Enrollment jumped 3 percent, from 39 to 42 percent
for four-year colleges and 5 percent, from 12 to 17 percent for two-year institutions.

We also track the extent to which our graduates who enrollin either two-year or four-year school
after high school persist in college into their second year. Trends in persistence in college
enrollment shown by the percentage of students returning for a second year of college are
displayed in Figure 16. Bellingham graduates’ persistence into a second year of post-secondary
schooling showed a solid increase overall and at both two-year and four-year schools.

Figure 16. Percent of BPS Student Who Enrolled in College the First Year After High School
Graduation and Returned for a Second Year

emess2-Year College ==4-Year College All Institutions
100
95 ee 92 eee 93 mn 93 99 ee 33 memes 95 mg ee 94
87
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2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022

Grads Grads Grads Grads Grads Grads Grads Grads Grads

Of our graduates from 2022 who enrolled in either two-year or four-year colleges 90 percent
persisted into the second year, the highest mark since we started reporting this data. This
included a 94 percent persistence rate for graduates attending four-year colleges and, after last
year’s low (63 percent), a nice bounce to a 75 percent persistence rate for graduates attending
two-year colleges.

When our students leave for post-secondary schooling, where do they go? Figure 17 displays the
top 10 most attended two- or four-year schools by Bellingham graduates for the years 2019,
2022 and 2024. Western Washington University (WWU) ranked as the number one school
enrolling the highest number of graduates from the most recent graduating class. Whatcom
Community College (WCC) enrollment ranked number two, however enrollment numbers
dropped once again compared with pre-pandemic numbers. This is consistent with the data
reported earlier demonstrating the persistent decline in two-year college attendance by
Bellingham graduates.

17


Figure 17. Top 10 Post-Secondary Institutions by Enrollment for BPS Graduates 2019, 2022

and 2024.
2024 2022 2019

Institutions Rank Enroll Rank Enroll Rank — Enroll
Western Washington University 1 78 2 90 2 87
Whatcom Community College 2 73 1, 93 1 196
University Of Washington - Seattle 3 59 3 47 3 42
Bellingham Technical College 4 25 5 28 4 39
Washington State University- Pullman 5 24 4 29 5 24
Montana State University - Bozeman 6 16 6 15 22 4
Central Washington University 7 13 9 7 7 9
Oregon State University 8 11 11 6 8 8
University Of Utah 9 10 24 3 -- --
California Polytechnic State University 10 8 7 9 -- --

Finally, Figure 18 displays trends in post-school activities for Bellingham and Washington state
students served in special education in their first year after leaving high school over the years
2019-2023. The board should recall that this data display is built on phone survey data of
graduates and non-graduates who were Served in special education during their time in school.
Respondents are drawn from those who left school at the end of a school year and thus are from
different graduation year cohort groups. As such, the data shown cuts across

18


Figure 18. Trends in Engagement in the First Year After High School for BPS and Washington
State Students with IEPs

100% -

14
22.
28 28 23 28 30 26 27 31
o 80% -
F] Not
& 28 7 Engaged
> 21 11
3 13 iS} 23
2 60% -— 24 21 4 15 Other
a 4 = Employment
pe 4
4
2 1 5 F @ Other Education
Ps 40% | or Training
5 15 31 41
€ 27 31 32 m Competitively
8 Employed
uo
a pal
20% 34 B Higher
23 22 Education
17 17 17 18
0%
2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023
Year Leaving High School Year Leaving High School
Bellingham Public Schools Washington State

multiple cohorts of students and does not correspond to cohort graduation data for students
served in special education presented earlier. That said, as in prior years we include these data
because they are collected in asystematic manner and help with understanding the post-
secondary experiences of students who were served in special education during their time with
Bellingham schools. As in prior years, our students are engaged at higher levels in the combined
categories of higher education, competitive employment and other education or other
employment than is typical according to state averages. And nearly 10 percent fewer of our
students report as “not engaged” compared to state averages.

Figure 19 displays the district and state data for graduates and non-graduates served in special
education; notably non-graduates included in the Bellingham sample numbered fewer than 10
in the 2023 cohort, and therefore data is suppressed and not displayed. A higher percentage of
our graduates served in special education entered higher education settings than the state
average and asmaller percentage of our BPS graduates served in special education end upin
the “not engaged” category than the state average.

19


Figure 19. Graduates and Non-Graduates with IEPs Engagement in First Year After Leaving
School in 2023 in Bellingham and Washington State

100% —
Z 28 Not
30% - Engaged
s 50
8 20 Other
= 14 Employment
oO 60% -
n | 3
2 Ya m Other
3 Education or
4 Training
& 40% - 19 = Competitively
= Employed
ra | 4
@ @ Higher
a 20% + Education
0% 4 er
Bellingham State Bellingham State
Count = 92 Count = 6327 Count < 10 Count = 844
Graduates Non-Graduates

Summary Discussion

Ensuring that students graduate from our schools continues to be a foundational goal, and over
the decade from 2013-2023, graduation rates for Bellingham students have continued to
increase; for the first time since we began reporting on this data our students hit the 90 percent
overall mark in five-year graduation rates. Below are some summary challenges or concerns
remaining from our Ends 2.1, part 2 analysis, along with some of the positive highlights.

Challenges/Concerns:

e The five-year rate for Hispanic/Latinx students in 2023 dipped below the 80 percent mark
for the first time since the class of 2017 and also positioned our district below the state
average for that group.

e The four-year rate for this group dropped by 6 percent.

e The five-year graduation gap between groups of Bellingham graduates identified as low
income and non-low income increased from 9 to 11 percent in year-over-year
comparison.

e The five-year graduation gap between students served in special education and those
without widened slightly among our students in the class of 2023.

e Higher percentages of multilingual learners (32 percent), students served in special
education (15 percent) and Hispanic/Latinx students (15 percent) were noted as having
made no graduation pathway choice.

20


Two-year college enrollment dropped steeply after the pandemic and has yet to recover;
11 percent of 2024 graduates headed into two-year schools, a1 percent decrease over
2023.

Positive Highlights:

Graduation rates for Bellingham students increased from 84 percent in 2013 to 90
percent in 2023 which puts our district 5 percentage points above the state average.
The most recent seven-year cohort (class of 2021) attained a 91 percent graduation rate.
As noted above, our five-year rate improved by 1 percent in year-over-year comparison,
from 89 to 90 percent. The six-year rate also improved by 1 percentage point in
comparison to the prior year, moving from 89 to 90 percent.

Overall year-over-year dropout rates decreased by a point in Bellingham.

Four-year and six-year rates for students identified as low income hit new highs this year.
The four-year rate for students identified as low income improved to 84 percent, and the
six-year rate hit 86 percent, both new highs for this subgroup.

Four-year graduation rates for students served in special education and Hispanic/Latinx
students also improved in year-over-year comparisons.

The five-year graduation rate for multilingual students improved to a new high (80
percent).

The graduation gap between Bellingham’s multilingual learners and non-multilingual
learners decreased in year-over-year comparisons.

The four-year graduation rate of 67 percent for the class of 2024 is the highest noted for
any cohort of students served in special education in the last 10 years, and the six-year
rate of 72 percent equaled the highest mark during that same period.

Advanced Placement course completion increased 2 percent between 2023 and 2024,
the third annual year-over-year increase in a row we have observed in that category.
Bellingham students’ FAFSA completion was up 2 percent in year-over-year
comparisons.

Our four-year college going rate significantly improved this past fall to 46 percent overall,
hitting the highest mark since we started reporting this data 10 years ago.

Two years after graduation for the class of 2022, we observed an increase in post-
secondary enrollment in the second year. Enrollment jumped 3 percent, from 39 to 42
percent for four-year colleges and 5 percent, from 12 to 17 percent for two-year
institutions.

Of our graduates from 2022 who enrolled in either two-year or four-year colleges 90
percent persisted into the second year, the highest mark since we started reporting this
data.

Our students who were Served in special education and leave our school system are
engaged at higher levels in the combined categories of higher education, competitive
employment, other education or other employment post-high school than is typical
according to state averages. Nearly 10 percent fewer of our students who were served in
special education report as “not engaged” compared to state averages upon leaving the
system.

21


This second installment of the Ends 2.1 monitoring report, with the earlier Part 1 report, serves
as compelling evidence of progress that is aligned with our vision, mission and desired
outcomes. There will, no doubt, always be more to do. However, we want to celebrate the
positive accomplishments of our students and graduates noted within these reports, while
staying focused on our efforts as a school system to continuously improve. We appreciate the
direction provided by the school board in prioritizing the development of exceptional students
with strong character and a genuine passion for learning. Our aim remains to ensure that our
graduates are thoroughly prepared for a wide range of educational and vocational opportunities,
empowering them to make diverse life choices with confidence.

22