CLASS OF 2019 ACHIEVES RECORD NUMBER OF HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATES AND TOPS-ELIGIBLE STUDENTS

Jul 29, 2020

Overall Louisiana Class of 2019 graduation rate decreases to 80.1 percent

BATON ROUGE, La. - The class of 2019 recorded a record-high 42,650 on time graduates, according to results released today by the Louisiana Department of Education. The overall cohort graduation rate, however, decreased from 81.4 percent in 2018 to 80.1 percent in 2019. The graduation data released today reflects the four year adjusted cohort graduation rate, which tracks on time graduation.

"We are pleased to celebrate the coordinated efforts resulting in more Louisiana students earning a high school diploma than in previous years," said State Superintendent of Education Dr. Cade Brumley. "With the good news also comes concern, however, as the graduation rate for the cohort fell from the previous year."

The class of 2019 also saw Louisiana's highest number of TOPS scholarships and students earning college and career credentials.

"Moving forward, we see real opportunities to solidify career and technical education pathways that lead to higher wage jobs directly from high school," said Dr. Brumley. "Also, we must capitalize on possibilities to further connect our high schools and universities through our Dual Enrollment programming."

Louisiana graduated a record number of students on time in 2019 at 42,650, up from 40,131 in 2018. The number of graduates earning early college credit and industry career credentials rose 9.7 percent from 24,841 students in 2018 to 27,260 in 2019. The Class of 2019 also saw growth in the number of students who were eligible for the TOPS scholarships. This class had 22,098 students eligible for TOPS, a 3.8 percent increase from the 21,280 students who were eligible in 2018.

View all data in the High School Performance library on the Department's website.

"While the main priority of the Department is guiding our systems and schools through the reopening process, reviewing data is one of the key priorities of my 100 day entry plan," said Dr. Brumley. "The graduation and credential data released today will most certainly factor into the development of our short and long term goals. It's our mission to ensure every student is career or college ready when they leave our schools."

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