By Dave Williams, Capitol Beat News Service

ATLANTA – Georgia’s high-school graduation rate rose again this year to another all-time high since the state began using an adjusted calculation the federal government first imposed more than a decade ago.

The Georgia Class of 2023 recorded a graduation rate of 84.4%, up from 84.1% last year.

This year, 107 school districts posted graduation rates at or above 90%, while 43 districts recorded rates at or above 95%. Georgia’s statewide graduation rate has increased 14.7% since 2012.

According to data released by Effingham County Schools, the district posted a graduation rate of 92.2% -- 7.8% above the state average. Both area high schools recorded graduation rates for all students of the class of 2023 as 89.5% for ECHS and 94.9% for SEHS.

“I’m incredibly proud of Georgia’s high-school seniors – and the teachers, leaders, and families who have supported them to produce these results,” State School Superintendent Richard Woods said Oct. 10.

“It’s important to remember that the positive news we’ve received lately – from this historic-high graduation rate to Georgia students beating the national average of the SAT – is more than just numbers. Every data point represents an actual student and new opportunities that have opened up for their future.”

Georgia uses a federally required method to calculate its graduation rate: The number of students who graduate from high school in four years is divided by the number of students who entered ninth grade. That ninth-grade enrollment number is adjusted to reflect the number of students who transfer in or out of a school over the next three years. 

The Peach State’s high school graduation rate has risen steadily during the last decade except for 2021, when the COVID-19 pandemic forced schools to resort to online instruction rather than in-person learning. The graduation rate dropped slightly between 2020 and 2021, from 83.8% to 83.7%.