Graduation Rate Drops Slightly At James Logan High School

The 2012 graduation rate at James Logan High School was higher than the state average but still slightly lower than the previous year's.

Figures released Tuesday by the state superintendent's office show that the Union City high school's graduation rate last year was 85.6 percent, down just a pinch from the previous year's 86.2 percent and above the state average of 78.5 percent.

The dropout rate for the school was listed as 7.5 percent -- up from 7.2 percent in 2011 and below this year's 13.2 percent statewide average.

One of the reasons for the slight change could be that the school had more students enrolled in the 2011-12 year than in 2010-11.

According to the state website, there were 1,023 students set to graduate in the 2011-12 school year compared to 898 students in the 2010-11 school year.

Overall, California's graduation rates rose while dropout rates declined.

The state superintendent's office reported 78.5 percent of students who started high school in 2008-2009 graduated last year. That was up 1.4 percentage points from the year before.

Among African-American students, 65.7 percent graduated with their class in 2012, up 2.9 points from the year before.

Among Hispanic students, 73.2 percent graduated in 2012, up 1.8 points from the year before.

There was a corresponding drop in the state's dropout rate.

The superintendent's office reported 13.2 percent of students who began high school in 2008-2009 dropped out. That was down 1.5 percentage points from the year before.

The dropout rate among African-American students dropped 3.1 points to 22.2 percent. Among Hispanic students, the dropout rate fell 2.1 points to 16.2 percent.

Another 8.3 percent of students were labeled as neither dropouts nor graduates.

State Superintendent Tom Torlakson said while the trend is positive, California schools still need to do more. He said he'd like to see the graduation rate top 80 percent in the near future and then reach 90 percent by 2020.

He commended local school officials for improving education despite budget cuts the past few years and the fact California is 49th in the nation in education funding.

"As I travel up and down the state, I see great things happening in California schools every day," said Torlakson.