DOE: Graduation Rate Rises, Dropout Rate Falls

The Virginia Department of Education announced Tuesday that the statewide high school on-time graduation rate rose one point while the dropout rate fell one point.

The 2011 graduation rate is now 86.6 percent; the dropout rate is now 7.2 percent.

"A one-point increase in the graduation rate means that nearly 1,000 more young Virginians are beginning their adult lives with the diploma they need to pursue further education and training or an entry-level job," Superintendent of Public Instruction Patricia I. Wright said in a prepared statement. "The progress our schools have made in raising graduation rates is due the efforts of hundreds of teachers, counselors, principals and other educators across the commonwealth who refused to give up on even the most challenging students." 

According to the announcement, 55 percent of diplomas earned in 2011 were Advanced Studies diplomas. Of the 97,865 students in the 2011 cohort, 84,742, or 86.6 percent, earned a Board of Education-approved diploma.

• 46,318, or 47.3 percent, earned an Advanced Studies Diploma (including International Baccalaureate), compared with 45.7 percent of the 2010 cohort and 44.2 percent of the 2009 cohort.
• 34,646, or 35.4 percent, earned a Standard Diploma.
• 1,669, or 1.7 percent, earned a Modified Standard Diploma.
• 2,108, or 2.2 percent, earned a Special Diploma.
  • Modified Standard Diplomas and Special Diplomas are available only to students with disabilities.

“The rate for black students increased 1.4 points to 80.3 percent, and on-time graduation for Hispanic students increased 3 points to 79.1 percent. The on-time graduation rate for black students has risen 6.3 points, and the rate for Hispanic students has risen by 7.9 points since 2008, the first year VDOE reported cohort graduation rates,” said the release.