Most North Georgia graduation rates short of goals but improving

A 5 percent increase in the graduation rate benchmark for 2010 caused many North Georgia high schools to miss the mark for adequate yearly progress.

But the schools still are improving, figures show.

Georgia’s 2010 Report Card preliminary tallies show graduation rates improved at all but two high schools in the region. But with a higher benchmark this year of 80 percent — the 2009 benchmark was 75 percent — only three high schools made AYP for 2010.

Records show Northwest High School in Whitfield County, Gordon Lee High School in Chickamauga and Dalton High School in Whitfield’s county seat hit the new benchmark.

Local officials said their rates keep improving, but the ever-increasing benchmark makes it hard to keep making AYP.

Whitfield schools spokesman Eric Beavers said scores show consistent improvement since 2004 when the system’s average graduation rate was 49.9 percent. Whitfield’s average graduation rate now exceeds the 80 percent benchmark, though two of three high schools missed AYP by less than 1 percent.

Northwest and Southeast high schools improved their rates by more than 2 percent over their 2009 numbers, which met the 75 percent goal, but the new benchmark was too high to reach in 2010. Whitfield Career Academy’s graduation rate dropped almost one-half percentage point, just missing this year’s benchmark.

“The local graduation rate is expected to climb higher after including retest data from the Georgia High School Graduation Test,” Beavers said.

Under No Child Left Behind requirements, Georgia schools that don’t meet AYP in spring testing can retest over the summer to better final results released in the fall.

Records show Walker County’s LaFayette High School had the greatest graduation rate gain, 8.8 percent in 2010. The next-largest gain was at Murray County High School, where the rate improved by 5.9 percent. But both schools still lag a few points behind AYP goals.

Around the rest of the region, Walker’s Ridgeland High School improved its graduation rate by 4.8 percent, Dalton High improved by 4.6 percent, and Whitfield’s Northwest and Southeast high schools improved by 2.5 and 2.1 percent, respectively.

Rates at Catoosa’s Heritage and Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe high schools improved by just under 1 percent and Dade High bettered its numbers by 1.3 percent, records show.

Although all three Chickamauga City Schools met AYP goals, Gordon Lee High School’s graduation rate slipped 4.5 percent this year, but stayed well above the federal benchmark.

“Last year, our graduation rate was sixth-highest in the state, and it’s very hard to maintain that high of a level,” spokeswoman Jenny Vowell said.

“Any student that takes longer than four years to graduate, or is a special education student, does count as a dropout for AYP purposes in the view of the state,” Vowell said. “This is the year that we had a few more kids with special education diplomas, and that’s what caused part of (the rate drop) this year.”