Fayette’s 2019 four-year high school graduation rate is 90.24 percent, almost a one and a half percent increase from last year’s rate of 88.8 percent. 
The school system has the third highest graduation rate in the state compared to other systems with a graduating class of 1,000 or more students, and is among 71 Georgia school systems that recorded rates at or above 90 percent. Additionally, Fayette posted the second highest graduation rate out of all the metro Atlanta county school systems, and its rate is well above the state’s 82 percent.
Fayette County High School had the largest graduation rate increase of all of the county’s high schools, jumping to 84.43 percent from 81.4 percent in 2018, that is just over a three percent increase.
McIntosh High School posted the second greatest increase with 93.93 percent compared to last year’s 91.7 percent, an increase of over two percent. The school has the highest graduation rate in the county with Starr’s Mill High School close behind with a rate of 93.82 percent, the third highest increase in the county compared to last year’s rate of 92.1 percent. Whitewater High School’s graduation rate is 93.6 percent, rounding out the high schools in the county with graduation rates above 93 percent.
Sandy Creek High School also saw a rise in its graduation rate, posting an 84.66 percentage rate compared to last year’s 83.6 percent, increasing just over one percent.
Georgia calculates an adjusted cohort graduation rate as required by federal law. The four-year adjusted cohort graduation 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 ninth 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.
