Riverwood, North Springs See Graduation Rate Increases

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The Fulton County School System has the highest graduation rate – and the highest rate of graduation growth – among the large metro Atlanta school systems.

That’s according to data on the class of 2014 included in a report released this week by the Georgia Department of Education, the system said on Friday.

The Fulton 2014 graduation rate is 78.7 percent, which is a 3.2 increase over the 2013 rate of 75.5 percent.

It outpaces all other large school districts, which reported increases ranging from 0.5 to 2.3 percent, as well as the state’s increase of 0.7 percent.

A comparison of the Fulton County School System with other metro Atlanta districts, as well as individual high school results, can be viewed here.

Last year, Fulton’s rate rose by 4.2 percent and was seen as the first major progress report toward meeting the district’s increased graduation goal. The system in 2011 launched a five-year strategic plan that focused on three specific goals, one of which was increasing its graduation rate.

“I was thrilled at our increase last year and said that if we are to reach our 90 percent goal by 2017, we will need to see gains of 3-5 percent each year,” said Superintendent Robert Avossa. “This growth is due to the hard work of our teachers and school leaders. They are rising to the challenge, and we’re seeing such progress because they are doing the right things to engage students and keep them on the path toward graduation.”

The news came on the same day the school system held its third State of Our Schools event, where Avossa gave an update to the community on the district’s strategic plan and its progress toward meeting three main goals: that by 2017, 90 percent of Fulton students will graduate on time; 85 percent of Fulton’s seniors will be eligible for admission to a University System of Georgia college or university; and 100 percent of Fulton’s graduates will be certified work-ready.

“It was exciting to learn that our graduation rate had again increased,” he said. “We believe that by empowering our schools to address the needs of our unique communities, we will continue to see growth.”

Schools show increases

The class of 2014 data also shows that 14 Fulton high schools showed increases from the previous year, but of particular note are the double-digit gains made by:

Cambridge High School (+12.3%) and Riverwood International Charter School (+13.5%). Five other schools – Banneker High School (+9.2%), Creekside High School (+8.5%), Fulton Science Academy (+8.5%), Hapeville Career Academy (+5.4%) and North Springs Charter High School (+5.6%) – increased the graduation rate for all students by more than 5%.

North Fulton high school results include:

• Alpharetta: 89.2 percent (2013) to 90.8 percent (2014)
• Cambridge: 84.3 percent (2031) to 96.6 percent (2014)
• Centennial: 79.9 percent (2013 to 82.6 percent (2014)
• Chattahoochee: 93.8 percent (2013) 90.4 percent (2014)
• Independence: 40.4 percent (2013) to 43.6 percent (2014)*
  
• Johns Creek: 96.4 percent (2013) to 95.0 percent (2014)
• Milton: 96.0 percent (2013) to 91.2 percent (2014)
• North Springs: 71.9 percent (2013) to 77.5 percent (2014)
• Northview High School: 94.2 percent (2013) to 96.2 (2014)
• Riverwood: 67.8 percent (2013 to 81.3 percent (2014)
• Roswell: 86.5 percent (2013) to 85.6 (2014)

*Independence High School in Alpharetta is the school system’s alternative high school.

Fulton outperforms neighboring districts

Since 2011, when the Georgia Department of Education launched its revised calculation for graduation rates, Fulton County Schools has shown tremendous growth in its graduation performance. Of all large metro Atlanta school systems, Fulton County has increased its graduation rate by 8.6% over the past four years, whereas other districts increased between 3.6% to 7.4% during the same period.

Achievement gap closing

Fulton also has increased its growth margin for all student subgroups over the past four years. Since 2011, the graduation rate has increased 7.2 percent for economically disadvantaged students; 17.5 percent for English language learners; 4.7 percent for students with disabilities; 6.3 percent for Asian students; 9.5 percent for black students; 7.8 percent for Hispanic students; 5.6 percent for white students; and 19.3% for multiracial students.

This is the fourth year the Georgia Department of Education has calculated the graduation rate using the adjusted cohort rate formula. The four-year adjusted cohort graduation rate defines the cohort based on when a student first becomes a freshman and is calculated using the number of students who graduate within four years and includes adjustments for student transfers.

By contrast, Georgia’s former graduation rate calculation defined the cohort upon graduation, which may have included students who took more than four years to graduate from high school.