The percentage of Coweta County School System high school students graduating on-time rose to 91.9 percent for the class of 2024.
This year’s 91.9 percent rate slightly tops the Coweta County School System’s previous high of 91.7 percent last year, and the previous high of 91.6 reported in 2020. Coweta County’s overall graduation rate was more than 6 percent higher than the state of Georgia’s 2024 rate, which increased 1 percentage point to 85.4 percent, Georgia’s highest rate ever.
The graduation rate tracks the percentage of high school students who graduate within four and five years of entering high school.
All three of Coweta’s high schools posted rates of over 90 percent.
Individually, East Coweta High School posted a 2024 graduation rate of 90.4 percent, Newnan High a rate of 92.7 percent, and Northgate a rate of 94.0 percent.
“Graduation is a pre-K through 12th grade endeavor,” said Coweta Superintendent Evan Horton. “Every single staff member that plays a part in the educational career of one of these students is a difference maker when it comes to graduation… Thank you to each of them. They’re making a difference for our kids and these numbers.”
Both Coweta County and Georgia graduation rates have seen overall increases since the state began using the four and five year “cohort graduation rate” as a standard measure, as required by federal law.
The “Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate” measures the percentage of students who enter high school together as freshmen (the ‘cohort’) who then go on to earn their high school diploma. The calculation of the rate adjusts for student transfers.
For the calculation, students who are entering ninth grade for the first time form a “cohort” that is subsequently adjusted by adding any students who transfer into the cohort during the next three years and subtracting any students who transfer out.
Georgia calculates the four-year adjusted cohort graduation rate – also called the “on-time” graduation rate – by dividing the number of students who graduate in four years with a regular high school diploma by the number of students who form the adjusted cohort for the graduating class. Students who don’t graduate in that cohort may still go on to meet graduation requirements with additional semesters of coursework. The overall graduation rate combines and weights both four and five year graduation rates for a standardized overall graduation rate.
“I offer my congratulations to Georgia’s class of 2024 on this historic achievement,” State School Superintendent Richard Woods said. “These students faced great challenges throughout their school careers – they were in middle school when the pandemic hit in 2020. We have worked to provide the resources and supports needed to ensure they could still succeed and thrive, and we continue to see results showing that the efforts of Georgia’s educators, families, and all those who have taken the time to invest in students are paying off.”
The state Department of Education attributed the rise in graduation rates to several initiatives, including the continued expansion of career and technical programs like Coweta’s Central Educational Center, which allow students to prepare directly for careers after high school, the GaTutor program, which provides free tutoring support from certified Georgia teachers, and state efforts to locate and support students who have disengaged from school.
Coweta County’s graduation rate has remained consistently above the state average during that period, despite having higher standards for graduation under its block scheduling system than most Georgia school districts. Coweta high schools have also used a number of strategies and supports to increase graduation rates throughout that time, including:
- Relevant and challenging instruction by high-quality teachers.
- Individual graduation plans for each student which are closely monitored by faculty.
- Online credit recovery opportunities for students who encounter difficulty in classes, and content-based support and Saturday school opportunities.
- Tutoring available during the day and before and after school.
- Students-support services outside of the classroom including counseling and staff advisors, online facilitator, ELEVATE Coweta Students, and community mentors.
- ELEVATE Coweta Students partnerships working with the most at-risk students.
- Screening for students in math and ELA starting as they transition from 8th to 9th grade and continuing each grading period throughout a student’s time in high school.
- Emphasis on 9th grade readiness and careful scheduling of students
- Innovative scheduling opportunities, including literacy and math focus as well as accelerated and advanced learning opportunities through the Central Educational Center, dual-enrollment opportunities and work-based learning.
- Organizing professional learning communities for teachers and monitoring the impact of those opportunities by department and content area.
- Content nights for parents to encourage family awareness and support for student’s graduation requirements, high school scheduling and academic content.
- Focusing short-term federal funds made available to Coweta County in recent years into additional teaching personnel, tutoring and other initiatives that have addressed learning loss and increased student support.
To see more on state-wide school and district graduation rates from the Georgia Department of Education, go here.
