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California High School Graduation Rate Improves In Post-COVID Rebound
A graduating senior at the 2021 commencement ceremony at Belmont High School, an L.A. Unified School District campus near downtown, wears a mortarboard with the words: "I wanted to give up but then I remembered who I was."
(
Kyle Stokes
/
LAist
)
California's high school graduation rate rose in 2022, with 87% of last spring's senior class earning diplomas on-time, state officials announced Thursday.
How this year's numbers compare
Statewide, the new graduation rate represents an increase of more than 3 percentage points over the prior year, and follows a string of small declines during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Why it matters
Thursday's announcement is a welcome reprieve from a string of bad news about the effects of the COVID-19 on student learning this year. Earlier this year, state officials released data from the first round of statewide testing since the pandemic's onset. As many feared, the results showed many students in Grades 3-8 and 11 were off-track academically.
How LAUSD did
In the Los Angeles Unified School District the graduation rate was even higher: 87.4%. That figure represents perhaps the first time that LAUSD's graduation rate has beat the statewide average, said Superintendent Alberto Carvalho — though he noted that rate included independent charter schools, which the district doesn't manage. Even setting aside charters, LAUSD's graduation rate topped 86% — and still rose significantly from the year before.
How other L.A. County districts fared
Here are the results from a handful of the county's largest districts.
- In Long Beach Unified, 85.2% of students graduated on time in 2022
- William S. Hart Union High (Santa Clarita): 93%
- Centinela Valley Union High: 42.9%
- Whittier Union High: 92.9%
- El Monte Union High: 85.4%
- Downey Unified: 94.2%
- Montebello Unified: 88.9%
- Glendale Unified: 84.1%
- Pomona Unified: 88.6%
(These figures reflect all schools in these districts, including charters.)
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But the game has changed: Congress voted to eliminate funding for public media across the country. Here at LAist that means a loss of $1.7 million in our budget every year. We want to assure you that despite growing threats to free press and free speech, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust. Speaking frankly, the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news in our community.
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Thank you for your generous support and belief in the value of independent news.
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