SDUSD declared lowest drop-out, second-highest graduation rates in urban district report

SAN DIEGO (CNS) – The San Diego Unified School District had the lowest dropout rate and the second-highest graduation rate among similarly sized urban districts in the last academic year, according to district officials and a report released Monday.

The state Department of Education’s annual report on graduation and dropout rates showed that San Diego Unified’s dropout rate was 5.2% last year, down from 6.1 in 2012, among students who began ninth grade together in 2009.

District officials said last year’s figure compared with the statewide range from second-place

Sacramento City Unified School District had the state’s second-lowest dropout rate, at 5.9%, while Oakland Unified had the worst at 21.6%, according to district officials.

San Diego schools came in second in graduation rates among the state’s large urban districts, according to the report. District officials said 87.8% of the 7,282 students who began high school together graduated in 2013.

Only the Garden Grove Unified School District had a better rate, graduating 89%.

Statewide, the graduation rate climbed for the fourth year in a row, according to state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson.

A total of 80.2% of the state’s students who started high school in 2009-10 graduated with their class in 2013, a 1.3% increase than the previous year’s class.

“For the first time in our state’s history, more than 80% of our students are graduating – a clear sign of their hard work and the support they receive from their teachers, families and communities,” Torlakson said. “We are continuing toward our goal of graduating 100% of our students with the skills and knowledge they will need to succeed.”

The report also showed a statewide decrease in the dropout rate. Of the students who started high school in 2009-10, 11.6% dropped out, a 1.5% dip from the previous year.