Goal 12: Ensure that all students, without consideration to race, income, age or community, gain the knowledge and life skills required to succeed in the global economy and society.
GOAL 11: Improve the overall quality of education in the region.
INDICATOR: High School Graduation Rate
Why is this important?
High school graduation is an essential first step to having a life of choice and economic opportunity. With recent advancements in technology, demands for highly skilled, trained and educated employees have steadily increased. As a result of these changes, a high school education is a minimum in the labor market, and is a requirement for accessing various forms of higher education and training. In a sustainable society, everyone has as much opportunity as is possible for them, so high school graduation rates are a useful measure of what will be available to our young people later in life.
How are we doing?
The graduation rate in the Atlanta region has steadily increased by six percent since 2003-2004. In 2005-2006, the graduation rate in the Atlanta region was 77 percent. This is six percent higher than the State of Georgia's average graduation rate of 71 percent.
In comparing the various systems in the region, while all but one school system's graduation rate increased from 2004 to 2005, several systems numbers slipped again in 2006. In 2005, DeKalb County reported the lowest graduation rate at 63 percent down from 72 percent in the previous year. Conversely during this same school year, the graduation rate in Buford City schools increased by 23 percent. In 2005-2006, Atlanta, Marietta, Fulton, Henry, Cherokee, Rockdale and Buford City schools all reported a slight decrease in the high school graduation rate.
Fayette County has consistently reported the highest graduation rate increasing from 88 to 92 percent between 2004 and 2006.
Educational Excellence
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