- The public high school graduation rate in Georgia has hit a record high of 84.4%.
- In 2012, less than 70% of Georgia’s seniors were able to receive a high school diploma on time.
- Graduation rates may have increased partly due to a state decision that eliminated four exit exams in 2020.
Georgia’s rising public high school graduation rate hit a record in 2023, with the state Department of Education saying Tuesday that 84.4% of seniors graduated on time in the spring.
That’s up slightly from 84.1% last year, and a record high since Georgia began using calculations that require a student to graduate in four years with a regular high school diploma.
“Every data point represents an actual student and new opportunities that have opened up for their future,” state Superintendent Richard Woods said in a statement. “I’m confident we’ll continue to see positive results as we invest in academic recovery and building a student-centered educational system.”
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Graduation rates have increased since 2012, when fewer than 70% of Georgia seniors were graduating on time.
The national graduation rate was 87% in 2020, the last year for which it is available.
It’s gotten easier to graduate in Georgia in recent years, with the state in 2020 eliminating four end-of-course exams. The state Board of Education voted in July to let districts count the remaining end-of-course exams in algebra, American literature and composition, biology and U.S. History for as little as 10% of a student’s grade in those courses starting this school year. The threshold previously had been 20%.
State standardized test scores fell in Georgia during and after the COVID-19 pandemic and have not yet fully recovered.
Statewide, 94% of Asian and Pacific Islander students graduated on time, as did 87.1% of white students, 82.5% of multiracial students, 83.7% of Black students and 77.6% of Hispanic students. Georgia…
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