Why Aren’t Our Kids Graduating?

A diploma remained out of reach for more than 30 percent of Georgia students in the class of 2012.

That’s according to numbers released this week by the Georgia Department of Education. It reported that across the state, 69.7 percent of students in the class of 2012 graduated within four years.

Three area school districts were among those that surpassed the state average. Cobb County Schools saw an even 76 percent of its class of 2012 graduate on time. Paulding County Schools were just behind with 75.5 percent graduating, while Douglas County had 72.3 percent earning diplomas on schedule.

Other districts in Georgia didn’t fare as well. Atlanta Public Schools had just over 51 percent of students graduate, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, while three school systems had sub-50-percent rates: Randolph County with 49.3 percent; Talbot County with 45.5 percent; and Twiggs County with 45.3 percent.

A PDF of school and district graduation rates is attached to this article.

The graduation numbers reported by the state represent the four-year adjusted cohort graduation rate, which is based on when a student first becomes a freshman. The rate is calculated using the number of students who graduate within four years and includes adjustments for student transfers. The state’s previously used a graduation rate calculation that may have included students who took more than four years to earn a diploma.

Why do you think Georgia’s students continue to fall short of graduation? What can schools do to increase the graduation rates? What can communities do to improve them?

Share what’s on your mind with us, and then return here to see what your neighbors in Cobb, Douglas and Paulding have said.