Rockdale County Public Schools’ (RCPS) four-year cohort graduation rate slightly decreased from 82.13 percent in 2021 to 81.24 percent for 2022, according to the Georgia Department of Education. The state of Georgia four-year cohort graduation rate increased slightly from 83.7 to 84.1 percent.
“The Class of 2022 is to be commended for their perseverance as they had to contend with their sophomore year being upended by a global pandemic, followed by their junior year being disproportionately spent virtually in remote learning,” said Superintendent Dr. Terry Oatts. “Their senior year was their first year of reclaiming some degree of normalcy against the backdrop of residual public health challenges associated with the pandemic. Despite these challenges, our Class of 2022 persisted with our four-year cohort graduation rate holding relatively steady.”
According to the Georgia Department of Education, the four-year adjusted cohort graduation rate is required by federal law. How Georgia calculates its graduation rate:
• The number of students who graduate in four years with a regular high school diploma, divided by
• The number of students who form the adjusted cohort for the graduating class.
The adjusted cohort rate means from the beginning of ninth grade, students who are entering that 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.
“It is our ultimate goal to ensure that every student successfully graduates,” said Dr. Sherri Freeman, assistant superintendent for high schools. “Our students, faculty, and staff have worked diligently toward this goal, and I am proud of their collective efforts. While the four-year graduation rate held steady for the Class of 2022, we remain dedicated to our ultimate goal. We will continue to refine and focus our work to increase the percentage of our students who not only successfully graduate, but graduate within their four-year cohort. Our school teams are committed to fully supporting our students in this critical work.”
For state accountability reporting purposes (College and Career Ready Performance Index or CCRPI), the state combines a school district’s four-year and five-year cohort graduation rates to calculate its overall graduation rate. The four-year rate is calculated as two-thirds of the overall graduation rate, while the five-year rate is one-third of the overall graduation rate.
“Our 2022 four-year cohort graduation rate is 81.24%, a fraction of a percentage point decrease from 2021, and we are confident that we will likely see continued gains in our five-year cohort graduation rate when it is released later this fall, as we have for other indicators such as a single-year record high of 83 RCPS AP Scholars named, an increase in AP Exam Scores of 3 and higher, 21 National Scholars recognized by the College Board for their PSAT/AP Exam achievement, and an increase in CTAE Pathway enrollment and completion,” said Dr. Oatts. “Going forward, RCPS will accelerate its commitment to ensuring an enhanced cohort monitoring structure that effectively and efficiently tracks students’ progress toward graduation and promptly deploys any necessary interventions and supports.”
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