Iowa Department of Education Releases Latest Graduation Rates
The Iowa Department of Education released 2021 four-year graduation rates on Monday, March 7. On its webpage, KAYL Radio reported that “90.2 percent of students in Iowa’s Class of 2021 graduated within four years, down from 91.8 percent the previous year.”
East Sac County’s four-year graduation rate for 2021 is 6.5 percent higher than the state average; 96.7 percent of Raider seniors completed their high school career in four years. Area schools had four-year rates of 96.3 to 87.5. These included: OA-GCIG at 96.3 percent, Newell Fonda at 93.9 percent, Alta Aurelia at 93.6 percent, Ridge View at 93.5 percent, Pocahontas Area at 90.3 percent, South Central Calhoun with 90.2 percent, and Sioux Central at 89.1 percent.
Many Storm Lake students choose to go for a fifth year of high school at the local charter school. Therefore, Storm Lake’s five-year graduation rate for 2020 is 87.5 percent.
According to the Iowa Department of Education, Iowa’s four-year graduation rate has climbed nearly two-percentage points overall in the past ten years.