Grad Rates Up for Sixth Straight Year

Graduation rates in the Long Beach Unified School District increased for the sixth year in a row, again surpassing state and county rates. Students of color in Long Beach schools also outperformed their peers countywide and statewide, and eight high schools here reported graduation rates above 90 percent.

LBUSD’s overall graduation rate is 86 percent, up 1.8 percent over last year and surpassing both Los Angeles County’s rate of 80.8 percent and California’s 82.7 percent.

The increase in graduation rates here was achieved despite a tightening of criteria by the California Department of Education, which describes the latest “four-year adjusted cohort graduation rate” data as a new baseline because the state is no longer counting students who receive diplomas from adult education programs as graduates.

“We continue to see an encouraging trend of improvement here,” Long Beach Unified School District Superintendent Christopher J. Steinhauser said. “These steady gains are the result of a concerted effort to provide additional support to students who need extra help.

Read more on lbschools.net