By Staff 3-28,2016
High school graduation rates in Wyoming increased slightly for the 2014-15 school year, according to information released by the Wyoming Department of Education (WDE) today. Full graduation rate statistics are available at edu.wyoming.gov/data/graduation-rates/.
“We applaud the efforts of our high schools to graduate more students last year, however we are not where we want to be,” said State Superintendent Jillian Balow. “Graduation is the gateway to next steps: college, career, and military. Every student should be graduating from high school. We will intensify our support to struggling schools and focus on diversifying education experiences for students.”
The Every Student Succeeds Act requires close monitoring of graduation rates and intentional work to ensure individual student growth.
Wyoming’s “on-time” graduation rate of 79.41 percent in 2014-15 is up from the 2013-14 rate of 78.6 percent, and the 2012-13 rate of 77.5 percent. Seven schools achieved a 100 percent four-year graduation rate:
• Burlington High School, Big Horn #1
• Cokeville High School, Lincoln #2
• Meeteetse School, Park #16
• Chugwater High School, Platte #1
• Guernsey-Sunrise High School, Platte #2
• Skyline Academy, Sublette #1
• Ten Sleep K-12, Washakie #2
Thirteen Wyoming school districts posted graduation rates of 90 percent or above:
• Platte #2: 100%
• Washakie #2: 100%
• Park #16: 100%
• Teton #1: 95.93%
• Weston #7: 95.65
• Big Horn #3: 93.75
• Crook #1: 93.33
• Sublette #9: 92.59
• Big Horn #2: 92.45
• Sheridan #1: 91.18
• Lincoln #2: 90.95
• Fremont #24: 90.91
• Sublette #1: 90.54
Since the 2009-10 school year, the WDE has calculated graduation rates using the Federal Four-Year Adjusted Cohort methodology established by the U.S. Department of Education, complying with federal law that requires all states to calculate graduation rates the same way. Students are counted in the four-year (“on-time”) high school graduation rate if they earn a diploma by September 15 following their cohort’s fourth year. Five- and six-year graduation rates are also calculated, and can be viewed with the rest of the graduation rate data.