Georgia high school graduation rate inches upward again

School systems in Atlanta, Decatur, Marietta, and Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, Fayette, Forsyth, Fulton and Gwinnett counties all saw improved graduation rates. Henry County reported a 0.9-point decrease.

With one exception, the state has made steady — and generally incremental — annual improvements since the new measure was implemented over a decade ago. The exception was during the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic, when the class of 2021 had an 83.7% rate, a tenth of a percentage point down from the prior year.

The rate is calculated like this: The number of students who earn a regular high school diploma is divided by the number of students in the “adjusted cohort” for the graduating class. That cohort comprises all the students who entered a Georgia high school as freshmen four years prior, minus those who transferred out plus those who transferred in.

The U.S. Department of Education implemented the new measure to standardize reporting across the states. In 2011, Georgia’s rate plummeted under the new measure, falling to 67%. That was far lower than the nearly 81% rate state officials had touted before, and it ranked Georgia among the lowest performers nationally, below Alabama and Mississippi.

Georgia School Superintendent Richard Woods noted the class of 2024 was in middle school when the pandemic disrupted education in 2020.

“I offer my congratulations to Georgia’s class of 2024 on this historic achievement,” he said.