More Gwinnett County Public Schools (GCPS) students graduated in 2022 than in 2021. According to data released by the Georgia Department of Education, GCPS’ four-year graduation rate rose from 82.48% in 2021, to 83.15% in 2022. In addition, a total of eight Gwinnett high schools reported a graduation rate above 90% in 2022.
In looking at this year’s four-year graduation rate in Gwinnett, 14 high schools experienced increases—Archer, Brookwood, Grayson, Central Gwinnett, Dacula, Discovery, Duluth, Grayson, McClure Health Science, Mountain View, Norcross, Peachtree Ridge, Phoenix, and Shiloh. Gwinnett schools with the highest graduation rates in 2022 were Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science, and Technology; North Gwinnett High School; McClure Health Science High School; Brookwood High School; Grayson High School; Peachtree Ridge High School; Mill Creek High School and Lanier High School. In all, 14 Gwinnett schools posted four-year graduation rates that surpassed the state average of 84.1%.
Grayson High School Principal Dr. Dana Pugh is excited about his school’s continued progress. “The Grayson community has always been a strong supporter of its schools; therefore, you see the improvement reflected in the graduation rate,” Dr. Pugh says. “Our success is a result of a total school-wide effort. We attribute our graduation rate increase to the dedication and commitment of our students, parents, and entire faculty. The multifaceted work of our school counselors includes classroom guidance sessions with 9th and 10th grade students to review their four-year graduation plan. The counselors also conduct individual 11th and 12th grade advisement conferences with parents and students to review their four-year graduation plan. These conferences target dropout prevention strategies, academic progress monitoring, and post-secondary planning options.”
At Brookwood High School, the school’s improvement on its already high graduation rate is a point of pride for Principal Dr. Brett Savage and the school’s community. He says, “This wouldn’t be possible without the hard work of our students and the support of our families and community. The secret lies in the relationships that our staff builds with our students and the community. They work tirelessly to learn the stories of our students and use that information to create specific support plans for each one. These strategies help us in our continuous pursuit of excellence.”
At Shiloh High School, Principal Dr. Danyel Dollard says hard work and dedication led to her school’s 82.86% four-year graduation rate, which is nearly 9 points higher than the 2021 rate of 73.88%. She adds, “This is the highest graduation rate since 2018, when it was 82.48%. Our theme was Relentless. We were relentless in making sure that each and every child had an opportunity for success. Our counselors got to know each of their students by name and ensured the students took advantage of every opportunity available. Our biggest win was the Credit Recovery opportunities the district opened up the previous year. We never gave up on our students. We were relentless.”
GCPS Superintendent Dr. Calvin Watts says while it’s important to remember the district’s educators aren’t focused on changing numbers, they are focused on changing lives. He explains, “In a school district of our size, incremental percentages of any measure can impact hundreds, and even thousands of students. In fact, I not only observed increased graduation rates for the Class of 2022, I also see the faces of 83.15% of our students and families as they celebrate their own pathway toward graduation. By acknowledging each and every student, however, I also reflect upon the 16.85% of our seniors who did not cross their finish line yet. While I fully recognize that we have much work to do, I look forward to continuously improving graduation rates as we implement our strategic plan.”
Georgia calculates “a four-year adjusted cohort graduation rate,” as required by federal law. This rate is the number of students who graduate in four years with a regular high school diploma divided by the number of students who form the adjusted cohort for the graduating class. From the beginning of 9th grade, students who are entering that grade for the first time form a cohort that is subsequently “adjusted” by adding any students who transfer into the cohort during the next three years, and subtracting any students who transfer out.
While all states use the same calculation, each state sets its own requirements for students to earn a regular high school diploma. Georgia has some of the highest requirements in the nation for students to graduate with a regular diploma, with Gwinnett County requirements surpassing those of the state.
The school-by-school report of graduation rates in Gwinnett high schools is as follows.
Graduation Rate Scores
4 Year Rate Comparison
| School Name | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | 81.56 | 82.02 | 83.82 | 83.70 | |
| GCPS | 81.71 | 80.92 | 83.23 | 82.48 | 83.15 |
| Archer HS | 90.72 | 86.69 | 90.44 | 88.60 | 88.64 |
| Berkmar HS | 70.60 | 74.70 | 77.60 | 78.99 | 77.63 |
| Brookwood HS | 92.43 | 94.07 | 93.54 | 92.05 | 93.98 |
| Central Gwinnett HS | 78.72 | 77.21 | 77.03 | 78.61 | 78.82 |
| Collins Hill HS | 83.21 | 83.98 | 86.13 | 82.65 | 82.23 |
| Dacula HS | 83.48 | 87.05 | 90.24 | 88.78 | 88.97 |
| Discovery HS | 78.93 | 73.54 | 80.79 | 77.87 | 79.84 |
| Duluth HS | 81.38 | 80.91 | 85.29 | 82.4 | 86.44 |
| Grayson HS | 93.12 | 90.79 | 93.94 | 91.62 | 92.35 |
| GIVE East HS | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 4.62 | 7.89 |
| GIVE West HS | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Gwinnett Online Campus | 38.89 | 51.30 | 58.91 | 60.27 | 56.73 |
| GSMST | 98.30 | 100.00 | 100.00 | 99.56 | 99.18 |
| International Transition Center | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Lanier HS | 80.54 | 89.42 | 95.22 | 93.50 | 91.93 |
| MCClure Health Sciences HS | N/A | N/A | 97.83 | 93.94 | 94.34 |
| Meadowcreek HS | 76.87 | 77.23 | 80.83 | 82.05 | 81.86 |
| Mill Creek HS | 97.78 | 90.65 | 92.10 | 93.25 | 92.03 |
| Mountain View HS | 87.85 | 82.64 | 91.68 | 88.01 | 89.03 |
| Norcross HS | 74.50 | 77.09 | 78.80 | 75.33 | 81.18 |
| North Gwinnett HS | 86.03 | 96.27 | 96.97 | 96.09 | 95.42 |
| Parkview HS | 92.10 | 90.49 | 90.92 | 87.88 | 86.86 |
| Paul Duke STEM HS | N/A | N/A | 84.09 | 92.52 | 88.39 |
| Peachtree Ridge HS | 90.99 | 89.86 | 91.88 | 88.30 | 92.14 |
| Phoenix HS | 13.59 | 11.65 | 15.52 | 19.18 | 22.02 |
| Shiloh HS | 82.48 | 77.26 | 75.14 | 73.88 | 82.86 |
| South Gwinnett HS | 78.81 | 81.92 | 80.62 | 80.72 | 80.38 |