As one of the primary measures of students’ college and career readiness, the School District of Philadelphia (SDP) closely monitors graduation rates each year. This brief explores graduation rates across public schools in the city of Philadelphia in 2021-22, comparing trends for District, Alternative, and Charter schools.

Graduation rates in 2021-22 are compared to those in past years starting from 2013-14. For students enrolled in District schools, the brief highlights differences in graduation rates by student demographics, school admission type, and participation in different Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs.

Key findings include:

• In 2021-22, the Philadelphia citywide on-time four-year graduation rate was 75.4%, a small increase from the 2020-21 rate of 75%.
• In 2021-22, the graduation rate was 85.5% for Charter schools, 78.5% for District schools, 18% for Alternative schools, and 71.2% for District and Alternative schools combined.
• The on-time graduation rate for District schools decreased by one percentage point from 79.6% in 2020-21 to 78.5% in 2021-22.
• Alternative school graduation rates declined by 4 percentage points from 21.9% in 2020-21 to 18% in 2021-22.
• The graduation rate for English Learners decreased by 5 percentage points from 71.3% in 2020-21 to 66.7% 2021-22.