Georgia high school students are making progress ... and graduating.
The state's high school graduation rate increased again in 2019, rising to 82 percent – an all-time high since the state began using the adjusted cohort calculation now required by federal law.
Georgia’s graduation rate has increased by 12 percentage points since 2012, with steady increases each year.
In 2019, 71 Georgia school districts recorded graduation rates at or above 90 percent. Twenty-four districts recorded rates at or above 95 percent.
“I’m proud today of Georgia’s teachers and students, who are doing the on-the-ground work that leads to increases in our graduation rate and other indicators – including NAEP and Georgia Milestones scores,” State School Superintendent Richard Woods said.
He added that the state must cater to each individual child.
“Moving forward, we must continue to focus on offering a relevant education and preparing every child for their future – not a one-size-fits-all system that sends every student in the same direction, but a tailored and personalized pathway based on a student’s academic and career interests and future goals.”
Georgia Graduation Rates – 2012 to 2019
- 2019 – 82.0 percent
- 2018 – 81.6 percent
- 2017 – 80.6 percent
- 2016 – 79.4 percent
- 2015 – 79.0 percent
- 2014 – 72.6 percent
- 2013 – 71.8 percent
- 2012 – 69.7 percent
Gwinnett County Public Schools experienced a slight decrease in its four-year graduation rate this year, moving from 81.7% to 80.9%.
Atlanta Public Schools reports the highest number of on-time graduates to date – 2,506 students, but graduation rate decreased by 2.0 percentage points from last year. One school, Coretta Scott King Young Women’s Leadership Academy, had a 100% graduation rate for cohort 2019.
Cobb’s cohort graduation rate came in at 86.98%, which is a 1.8 percentage point increase from 2018, and bests the state average by nearly 5 percentage points.
The DeKalb County School District’s four-year graduation rate for the Class of 2019 is 73.4, a decrease of 1.5 percentage points from last year.
Clayton County High Schools continued an eight-year improvement trend in the number of seniors graduating on time. The four-year cohort graduation rates for 2019 shows that they had a district-wide rate of 72.7 percent, an increase of one percentage point over last year.
Fulton County graduated 6,859 students, a rate of 87.2 percent.
For a complete breakdown of graduation rates by school and county, see the full list from the Georgia Department of Education.
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