Georgia's high school graduation rate rose 2 percentage points this year, bringing it to a record 80.8 percent, state officials announced Tuesday.

But some national education experts say the 17-point gain in graduation rate over seven years cited by  the state  is suspect because of  a flawed system used to calculate it.

The 2010 state graduation rates cited by the state  improved for students in all racial and economic groups, including:

-- Georgia’s African-American students had a graduation rate of 75.8 percent, up more than 23 percentage points from 2003 and from 74.1 percent in 2009.

-- Hispanic students had a graduation rate of 77.6 percent, up more than 29 percentage points from 2003 and from 71 percent in 2009.

-- Georgia’s economically disadvantaged students raised their graduation rate to 76 percent in 2010, up more than 24 points from 2003 and up from 72.9 percent in 2009.

The number of graduates has grown from 65,213 in 2002-2003 to 91,561 in 2009-10, while the number of dropouts has dropped from 22,861 in 2002-2003 to 18,543 in 2009-10.

This is the last year that Georgia will calculate the state graduation rate with a method that's been in place since 2003 and which some say undercounts dropouts.

Beginning next year, states will move to a new common system for calculating the graduation rates. By 2012, that graduation rate will be a factor in whether a school makes Adequate Yearly Progress under the federal No Child Left Behind Act.

State School Superintendent Brad Bryant said Georgia was part of a national movement to the new method of calculating the graduation rate, known as the cohort rate, which he said he believes will be "more fair."

Georgia's true graduation rate is up for debate. A report released in June by the EPE Research center, a nonprofit that publishes Education Week, put Georgia's graduation rate at 57.8 percent in 2007 and "pretty flat" since the early 2000s.

Asked Tuesday if Georgia's graduation rate could be 80 percent, EPE Research director Christopher Swanson said,"That's certainly not what our data would suggest."

A 17-percentage point increase "would be a really big change in less than 10 years," Swanson said.

Georgia has been using the National Center for Education Statistics “leaver rate.” It defines a graduate as a student who leaves high school with a regular diploma in four years. This does not include certificates of attendance or special education diplomas. About half of the states use the leaver method to calculate graduation rates, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Department of Education said Tuesday.

Critics say the leaver rate is flawed, relying on sketchy dropout data.The cohort rate takes the number of students who graduate in four years with a regular high school diploma, and divides it by the number of students who entered high school four years earlier, adjusting for transfers in and out, deceased students and others.

When Georgia makes the switch, the state's graduation rate is likely to tumble -- possibly significantly, Bryant said.

"The [state board of education] is prepared for a drop," he said, adding that the bigger concern for him is that the state's graduation rates continue on an upward trajectory.

Gov. Sonny Perdue and Bryant visited three schools Tuesday to announce the graduation rate, making  their first stop at North Hall High School in Gainesville, which was cited as having a 95 percent graduation rate.

"Every team wants to win, but a lot of teams won't put out what it takes. You've done that," Perdue said at a pep-rally style gathering with North Hall students, teachers and community leaders.

Graduation coaches who were put in middle and high schools to identify and help students at risk of dropping out also had a role in the state's success, the governor said.

"What I've seen is a focus on what ultimately is going to matter, and that's the notion that success in the K-12 environment evolves around crossing that finish line of graduation to be in the college-ready arena or career-ready arena," Bryant said.

Metro area graduation rates for 2010

Atlanta 66.3 percent

Cherokee County 82.4

Clayton County 81.6

Cobb County 87.3

DeKalb County 79.2

Fayette County 94.0

Forsyth County 89.7

Fulton County 85.3

Gwinnett County 84.7

Source: Georgia Department of Education