Fayette County’s overall high school graduation rate for 2018 was 88.8 percent, down slightly from 89.3 last year but still above the current state average of 81.6 percent.

The county ranked second highest in metro Atlanta for the third straight year, and fourth in the state among school systems with at least 1,000 students in the graduating class. At the individual high schools, the graduation rate was 93.9 percent at Whitewater, 91.7 percent at McIntosh, 91.2 percent at Starr’s Mill, 83.6 percent at Sandy Creek and 81.4 percent at Fayette County. Rates at Whitewater and Sandy Creek rose slightly from last year while McIntosh and Starr’s Mill decreased by 1.5 percent or less, but Fayette County High’s rate fell by 5.2 percent from 2017.

The school system said principals and administrators are analyzing the data to determine how to increase the rates at all schools.