More than 500 DeKalb County high school students did not graduate

DeKalb Schools is graduating more of its students since the state changed graduation requirements, ending the Georgia High School Graduation Test that required passing to earn a diploma.

Still, more than 500 students failed to graduate last year, according to information provided by the district.

The DeKalb County School District graduated 5,461 students in May 2018. Another 545 failed to graduate by May. District officials said more could have graduated during the summer.

The state Board of Education in 2011 voted to replace the Georgia High School Graduation Test and replace it with end-of-course exams, which would count as 20 percent of a student's overall class grade. Previously, an average of about three percent of the state's high school students each year did not receive diplomas after failing the test five times.

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