AUBURN — School officials were thrilled to learn Wednesday that the four-year graduation rate for the Edward Little High School class of 2023 will likely land above 90%,  making it the highest rate in at least a decade.

Principal Scott Annear said the rate is projected to fall between 92% and 94%. The exact value is yet to be determined because school officials are trying to sort out questions with the Maine Department of Education, he said.

Last year, the graduation rate was 86.7%. The year before that, it was 72.0%

He attributed the rapid increase to improvements in analyzing student data. Rather than wait until students finish their junior year to assess credit deficiencies, Annear said staff are checking to ensure students are on track starting in their first year at Edward Little.

“That has paid huge dividends for us,” he said. “Huge.”

Students are able to recover credits during February and April breaks, he said, adding that built-in support from programs like Jobs for Maine Graduates has helped keep students in school.

Another factor is a change in graduation requirements approved in November 2021. Under the change, students would need a minimum of 20 credits to graduate, not 24 credits as previously required.

The policy change also established a three-tier graduation system, whereas 20 credits will earn students a standard diploma, 24 credits will earn students a diploma with distinction, and 28 credits will earn students a diploma with honors.

The change was instituted in part because officials were shocked by the strikingly-low four-year graduation rate for the class of 2021. Another consideration was the graduation standards for the Adult Education program, Annear said.

Seniors who were unable to graduate from Edward Little would instead drop out and enroll in the adult education degree program because they were able to earn 20 credits by the year-end, but not 24 credits, he said.

The state required minimum for high school graduation is 18 credits.

Rather than see students leave the high school to enroll in adult education, Annear said it made more sense to create a three-tiered diploma system.

The “vast majority” of students who graduated this year still earned 24 credits, he said. A “very good chunk” exceeded 24 credits, he added.

The average four-year graduation rate from 2013 to 2022 was 78%.

In other news, Annear told the School Committee that the Edward Little yard sale last month raised nearly $5,000 for student events. The sale drew between 400 and 500 people.

People were able to donate whatever they felt their item was worth, rather than paying set prices.

The sale was so popular that they kept it running an additional hour-and-a-half beyond the intended end time of 1 p.m., Annear said.