Duval County Continues to Increase Graduation Rate
JACKSONVILLE - Governor Charlie Crist and Education Commissioner Eric Smith recently announced that Duval County's graduation rate rose to 65.9 percentage points, nearly two percentage points over last year. Meanwhile, Duval County’s high school dropout rate declined from last year, dropping nearly 2 percentage points to 3.3 percent.
“I am encouraged by the continued progress we are seeing in our graduation rate,” said Duval County Public Schools Superintendent Ed Pratt-Dannals. “Our teachers, faculty and staff remain focused on improving our graduation rate and decreasing the dropout rate through the safety nets our school district has implemented to help all of our students.”
Duval County’s graduation rate is an increase of 1.6 percentage points compared to last year and 7.2 percentage points since 1998/1999. The current dropout rate is a decrease of 1.9 percentage points compared to last year’s rate, and a decrease of 5.3 percentage points since 1998/1999.
The graduation rate in Florida is the highest it has been since the state employed new, more accurate data collection methods during the 1998-99 school year. Florida’s annual high school dropout rate also dropped to its lowest point ever this year.
The Florida Department of Education (DOE) bases its graduation rate on data that follows every single student from ninth grade to graduation, a method that more accurately calculates the number of students who graduate high school. Florida currently stands alone nationally in its practice of compiling and following individual student records to determine a true, four-year graduation rate. In October, the U.S. Department of Education announced that all states must adopt a uniform graduation rate calculation by the year 2010-11. Consequently, the DOE is reviewing its graduation rate to determine what changes are needed to meet the new federal requirement.
Duval County Public Schools operates more than 160 schools and serves approximately 123,000 students. The school district is committed to providing high quality educational opportunities that will inspire all students to acquire and use the knowledge and skills needed to succeed in a global economy, and culturally diverse world.
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