September 29, 2022
By: Dwayne Page
The DeKalb County School District is among 78 across the state that improved its 2021-22 graduation rate from the previous year.
According to data released by the Tennessee Department of Education, 93.2% of DeKalb County High School students graduated on time in 2021-22, almost a 10% increase from the rate of 83.6% in 2020-21. It was also better than the state’s graduation rate of 89.8% for 2021-22.
“Coming out of COVID our staff and administration worked extremely hard and did a good job in making sure students at risk and short of credits were on track to graduate through various educational and credit recovery programs including after school and summer school. We also added a graduation coach last year to help,” said Director of Schools Patrick Cripps
The Tennessee Department of Education this week released the graduation rate data for the 2021-22 school year, which exceeds pre-pandemic levels. With a statewide rate of 89.8% of Tennessee high school students graduating on time in the 2021-22 school year, a total of 78 districts improved their graduation rates from last year, and 95% of eligible students in 53 districts graduated on time this year.
“Seeing our graduation rates return to pre-pandemic levels shows that strong partnerships and the right investments will result in improved outcomes for our students,” said Commissioner Penny Schwinn. “Thanks to the dedication of our districts and schools, educators, and families, Tennessee students are able to move into life beyond high school and pursue postsecondary pathways that will help them achieve their dreams and goals.”
Tennessee’s graduation rate prior to the pandemic was 89.7% in 2018-19, and last year the rate was 88.7%. For the 2021-22 school year, the most notable takeaways from graduation data include:
•12 districts improved their graduation rate by 5 percentage points or more
•53 districts graduated 95% or more of their cohorts
•78 districts improved their graduation rates from 2021 to 2022
•54 districts improved the Students with Disabilities student group by 5 percentage points or more
•1,297 more students graduated in the 2022 cohort compared to last year, for a total of 64,580 graduating students across the state
The department continues to offer several initiatives to accelerate academic achievement and prepare students for postsecondary success, including summer programming, free ACT workshops, TN ALL Corps, Innovative School Models, and AP Access for All.