Georgia high-school graduation rate up in 2022 – again

Georgia’s high-school graduation rate increased to 84.1% in 2022, the highest it’s been since the state began using a federally required method to calculate the rate. This year’s rate is just a bit higher than last year’s rate of 83.7% Over the past decade, the state’s graduation rate has steadily increased. Back in 2012, the rate was a dismal 69.7%, according to a press release from the state Department of Education.

In 2022, over 100 school districts had a graduation rate of 90% or higher. And 41 districts even hit or exceeded the 95% mark.

“Teachers and students who persevered through the challenges of the last several years deserve credit for Georgia’s graduation rate increasing and other recent positive indicators, like Georgia students beating the SAT national average once again,” said State School Superintendent Richard Woods.

Republican Woods is seeking his third term as the state’s school chief. He will face Democrat Alisha Thomas Searcy in the November election.

Georgians can visit the state Department of Education’s website to see graduation rates for each school and district in the state.

Georgia uses a federally required method to calculate its graduation rate: The number of students who graduate from high school in four years is divided by the number of students who entered ninth grade. That ninth-grade enrollment number is adjusted to reflect the number of students who transfer in or out of a school over the next three years.

This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.