CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia’s high school graduation rate has increased for a third straight year, in which 92.1% of four-year high school seniors in the 2019-2020 school year graduated.
The West Virginia Board of Education discussed the findings last week, which also focused on the graduation rates between male and female students, as well as rates between ethnic groups.
The graduation rates in the 2017-2018 and 2018-2019 school years were 90.2% and 91.3% respectively.
The state Department of Education also provided information on an online dashboard about graduation rates in each county; Doddridge County has the highest graduation rate in West Virginia at 100%, while McDowell County Schools has the lowest graduation rate at 82.5%.
“Thirty-two counties actually have a graduation rate higher than the state average,” State Superintendent of Schools Clayton Burch said. “I thought that was really, really impressive.”
Burch said the information also allows local and state education officials to understand differences in academic performance between various groups; the Department of Education reports a 92.4% graduation rate among white students, a 98.7% rate among Asian Americans, a 92.8% rate among Hispanic students and an 86.1% rate among Black students.
Regarding female and male students, the department reports a 93.5% graduation rate among females and a 90.7% rate among males.