HSCHS graduation rate drops

Graduation rates across Wyoming have increased for the sixth consecutive year according to a report released from the Wyoming Department of Education.

“Wyoming has reached the highest graduation rate under this methodology, which was put in place over a decade ago,” said State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jillian Balow. “More Wyoming students are prepared to succeed in college careers and military service. Districts have worked hard to increase the number of students who received a diploma, and I am proud of that effort. But we must continue to focus on the 18 percent of students who don’t finish, and work to ensure that high school and earning a diploma is relevant to them.”

According to the report, 16 Wyoming school districts posted graduation rates of 90 percent or above, up from 15 districts last year.

The methodology the state uses to determine on-time graduation rates is federally created so all states in the nation are calculated using the same methodology.

Using these calculations, for graduation year 2018-2019, Hot Springs County High School had a graduation rate of 72.4 percent. Expected graduates for that year were 58, while just 42 students actually made the on-time graduation.

That number is actually eight percent lower than graduation rates for the class of 2017-2018 when 80.4 percent of the class graduated on time, and even lower than the 87.3 percent of on-time graduates from the class of 2016-2017.