Georgia’s high school graduation rate is rising higher than nearly every other state’s, but it is still below the national average, according to an annual report released this week.
The report, Building a Grad Nation, found Georgia's graduation rate increased by 4.7 percentage points between the 2010-11 and 2012-13 school years. Only Nevada, Alabama, New Mexico and Utah had a higher increase.
Georgia’s graduation rate was 71.7 percent in 2012-13, the report found. Only New Mexico, Nevada and Oregon had lower graduation rates, the report said.
Georgia education officials used a new formula to calculate graduation rates that took effect in 2011 that resulted in a major decline in the state's graduation rate. The report found graduation rates for low-income Georgia students was behind the national average.
Georgia education officials have noted that it is one of a handful of states that requires all students, including special ed students, to meet the same bar in order to get a high school diploma, such as four years of math courses. State officials say many Georgia students would meet the graduation requirements in other states but not the requirement in Georgia.
The report’s authors want the U.S. graduation rate to rise to 90 percent by 2020. It’s currently 81.4 percent, according to the report.
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