DeKalb Schools sees its first decrease in graduation rate in 4 years.
The 2018 graduation rate was 75% and approaching the state’s high school graduation rate which rose to 81.6% last year. As recent as March, the administration was expecting a 77% 2019 graduation rate. However, the graduation rate in DeKalb’s high schools dropped to 73.4% this year.
There were marked improvements in many schools across the district. How did your high school do?
DeKalb Schools 2019 Final 4-Year Graduation Rate
| SCHOOL | 2018 Final 4-Year Graduation Rate |
2019 Final 4-Year Graduation Rate |
2018 to 2019 Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arabia Mountain High School | 99.06 | 100 | 0.94 |
| Cedar Grove High School | 82.04 | 74.83 | -7.21 |
| Chamblee Charter High School | 82.7 | 76.94 | -5.76 |
| Clarkston High School | 61.16 | 60.88 | -0.28 |
| Columbia High School | 73.2 | 65.76 | -7.44 |
| Cross Keys High School | 64.42 | 62.59 | -1.83 |
| DeKalb Alternative School | 12.5 | 24.53 | 12.03 |
| DeKalb Early College Academy | 100 | 98.63 | -1.37 |
| DeKalb School of the Arts | 95.95 | 98.77 | 2.82 |
| Destiny Achievers Academy | 47.2 | N/A | |
| Druid Hills High School | 77.33 | 83.24 | 5.91 |
| Dunwoody High School | 86.38 | 88.99 | 2.61 |
| East DeKalb Campus | TFS | N/A | |
| Elizabeth Andrews High School | 17.71 | 13 | -4.71 |
| International Student Center | N/A | N/A | |
| Lakeside High School | 81.56 | 84.51 | 2.95 |
| Lithonia High School | 79 | 75.48 | -3.52 |
| Margaret Harris Comprehensive | TFS | TFS | |
| Martin Luther King Jr High Sch | 74.55 | 75.52 | 0.97 |
| McNair High School | 68.67 | 70.81 | 2.14 |
| Miller Grove High School | 79.88 | 79.35 | -0.53 |
| Redan High School | 82.11 | 73.49 | -8.62 |
| Southwest DeKalb High School | 86.47 | 84.23 | -2.24 |
| Stephenson High School | 86.89 | 77.72 | -9.17 |
| Stone Mountain High School | 70 | 59.03 | -10.97 |
| Tapestry Public Charter School | N/A | 86.67 | |
| Towers High School | 70.15 | 71.43 | 1.28 |
| Tucker High School | 79.44 | 79.19 | -0.25 |
| UHS of Laurel Heights | N/A | TFS | |
| District | 74.95 | 73.41 | -1.54 |
RELATED POSTS
Expected 2019 Graduation Rate
March 13, 2019 – DeKalb Schools graduation rate is expected to increase again to 77%. DeKalb Schools is approaching the state’s high school graduation rate which rose to 81.6% last year.
DeKalb Schools 2018 Graduation Rates
The four-year graduation rate for DCSD’s Class of 2018 was 75 percent, an increase from the 2017 graduation rate of 74 percent.
2017 DeKalb Graduation Rates By High School & Demographic
DeKalb School graduation rate climbed nearly 4 percentage points in 2017 to 74%.
2016 DeKalb Graduation Rates By High School
This is the second year that students shall no longer be required to earn a passing score on the Georgia High School Graduation Test (GHSGT) to earn a high school diploma.
2015 Graduation Rates
The DeKalb County School District graduation rate is up nearly 10% from last year. “We are headed in the right direction with improved graduation rates because of our laser focus on student achievement,” Superintendent Steve Green said. “Much more work needs and will be done to ensure our students are ready for career and college opportunities.”
“Extremism in defense of liberty is no vice. Moderation in pursuit of justice is no virtue.”
APS’s graduation rate was 77.9% for 2019, down from 79.9% in 2018:
https://www.ajc.com/news/local-education/aps-graduation-rate-drops-for-2019-one-high-school-reaches-100/yD6R3cTexHtguxuELGaSVL/
Scuttlebutt says the APS Superintendent is looking for a new job.
^^ Chamblee Charter needs to be in Red, not Blue
To what do you attribute Dunwoody’s increase, along with LHS,DHHS, and McNair, while the majority of Dekalb fell?
Stan
From the chart that is posted, it looks like the majority of schools had a decrease in the graduation rate. With our seven regions and all of the wrap around services, is the district giving any suggestions about the reason for the decrease?
The administration didn’t speculate as to why the graduation rates fell. I know we keep spending more and more money every year.
Can DCSD hire a competent chief academic officer – a go getter, a data cruncher, an experienced educator that didn’t come up through the ranks of DCSD? Can someone in DCSD please analyze/study/speculate on why rates are falling? Failure to understand the problem prevents one from identifying actions to solve it – you have to know what the problems are to fix them.
Similarly, can someone please evaluate every program and wrap around service that the admin has asked the BOE to approve spending for in the past 5 years? What’s Dr. Tinsley’s take on this? This should be an accountability piece that is done annually with every program/service and all those that are requested going forward. The BOE should include in each vote to approve an evaluation requirement and then follow up each year – with the expectation that the superintendent will provide said review and the BOE will hold him/accountable to do that by including the expectation when establishing his/her annual goals. Does anyone evaluate the services/returns on investment of the various mental health and special ed companies we contract with? What about the new “doctor bus” that goes around to different school? Does anyone even know how many kids have been served? What about how block schedule is working for each school? How many times are students taking the same class to pass – with most on block and a true block offering 32 credits, it seems it shouldn’t be too hard for students to get 24 credits in 4 years – esp when there is credit recovery, summer school, and wrap around services. BOE – please step it up and focus on what is happening academically! It’s embarrassing how much money DCSD has/spends and the poor outcomes we continue to have.
Just one thing… if a student transfers out and a school doesn’t know where that student went, they count as a ding against graduation rate. My principal said in 2018 that he had a secretary spending time scouring social media looking for students who left but we didn’t know where they went and that helped the rate that year.
@witsend, That is correct.
Elizabeth Andrews HS really should not be included in the comparison data for the graduation rate average. The school is specifically for students who need a nontraditional program to catch up when they are behind in their credits. The intention is to send as many back to their home schools as possible so they can graduate there-not from Elizabeth Andrews. Others who attend EAHS are working or are in some way disconnected from the concept of going to school with their peers and participating in common activities. Unfortunately, the state does not distinguish between a school like EAHS and traditional or charter schools.
If you take magnet out, what’s Chamblee’s graduation rate?
It’s unknown what the Chamblee magnet vs residential graduation rates are. When reporting tests, graduation rate, etc… the school doesn’t distinguish between the two.
Arabia Mountain must be doing something right. I understand data is important, but maybe we should also be asking the kids that aren’t graduating – why not? What caused them to not finish?
Arabia Mountain is strictly a magnet with no students zoned to go there.
It’s noteworthy that these stats are 4 year cohorts. Each community will have its various challenges of transient families, drop outs, failing to make the grade, etc … Ask your high school principal and/or teacher. I’m sure they’d be happy to discuss the nuances of the specific 4 year graduation challenges their community faces.
AB- Bless your heart.
This chart represents EXACTLY what I’ve been banging a drum about. Chamblee High if you are not in the magnet program is absolutely dismal. Assume that 1/3 population is magnet and 2/3 is resident. Assume the Chamblee magnet follows that of Arabia Mountain (100% graduation). That 76.9% includes magnet and non magnet. So if we assume that 1/3 graduates with 100%, the remaining 2/3 of the school’s population is graduating at a rate of 43.9% That puts it way under every other school except the specialty schools like Dekalb Alternative.
That is completely unacceptable!!! The non magnet students at Chamblee get zero support and the results speak for themselves. They are completely ignored and the results speak for themselves.
Maybe in 2022 DCSD can start using Georgia State’s Convocation Center?
https://atlanta.curbed.com/2019/9/19/20873813/georgia-state-university-new-panthers-convocation-center
Arabia Mountain is not 100% magnet as it also has a career pathway program. I don’t know the percentages in each program but a one time the career pathway had more students.
As a DeKalb resident, I am proud of the accomplishments of the students at Arabia Mountain (and all schools), it really is not fair to compare their graduation rate to other schools that get their students from a natural attendance zone. We should expect an annual graduation rate of 95% or higher each year from Arabia Mountain given that students apply to attend this school and must maintain a minimum GPA.
That said, what should citizens realistically expect as a minimum graduation rate from high schools with an attendance zone? There are many factors that schools cannot control that impact the graduation rate. I would expect a higher graduation rate from a high school located in an area where most of the homes are single-family and not many multi-family dwellings. (could impact the mobility rate of students). I would also expect a higher graduation rate from high schools located in an area where the average family income is at or higher than the median income for the metro Atlanta area. DeKalb is diverse in many areas so is an 80-85% annual graduation rate realistic?
It is very difficult to get a transfer student to graduate on time- particularly if their previous school has different graduation requirements or they failed many classes before transfer