DeKalb County School District’s graduation rate continues growth trend

The high school graduation rate for the DeKalb County School District (DCSD) continues to improve, based on recently released data from the Georgia Department of Education. The four-year graduation rate for DCSD’s Class of 2018 was 75 percent, an increase from the 2017 graduation rate of 74 percent.

Between 2013 and 2018, the district graduation rate improved 15 percentage points, closing in on the state’s rate of growth each year. DCSD’s work toward closing the gap between district and state graduation rates continues to persist. For Black/African-American students, the overall percentage of graduates increased three points since 2017 – from 73 percent to 76 percent.

“We are encouraged by the continued growth in the district’s graduation rate. It is evidence of our efforts to continuously improve the quality of teaching and learning taking place in DeKalb County,” said Superintendent R. Stephen Green. “We are committed not only to maintaining this path of improvement, but to accelerating our growth in this and other areas of achievement. Our goal continues to focus on ensuring that every student graduates college and career ready. There are no limits to learning in DCSD.”

In addition, there were notable increases in high school graduation rates:

•  Southwest DeKalb – from 74 percent (2017) to 86 percent (2018) – 12-point increase
•  Stephenson – from 80 percent (2017) to 87 percent (2018) – 7-point increase
•  Ronald E. McNair – from 62 percent (2017) to nearly 69 percent – 7-point increase

Three DCSD high schools have graduation rates of 90 percent or more, far surpassing the state average:

•  Arabia Mountain (99 percent) – Title I School
•  DeKalb Early College Academy (100 percent) –Title I School
•  DeKalb School of the Arts (96 percent)

Nine high schools have graduation rates of 80 percent or more, two more schools compared to 2018, all of which have surpassed or are close to exceeding the state graduation rate of 81.6%:

•  Cedar Grove (82 percent) – Title I School
•  Chamblee Charter (83 percent) – Title I School
•  Dunwoody (86 percent)
•  Lakeside (82 percent) – Title I School
•  Miller Grove (80 percent) – Title I School
•  Redan (82 percent) – Title I School
•  Southwest DeKalb (86 percent) – Title I School
•  Stephenson (87 percent) – Title I School
•  Tucker (85 percent) – Title I School