State Releases 2019 Graduation Rates

Posted Date: 08/05/2020

Beauregard among top ten districts in the state for graduation rates

The Louisiana Department of Education (DOE) has released the 2019 cohort data for

graduation rates which shows Beauregard Parish is among the top ten districts in the state,

maintaining a rate above 90 percent for seven consecutive years, according to Timothy J.

Cooley, Superintendent of Beauregard Parish schools.

The 2019 graduating class in Beauregard Parish had a 95.1 percent graduation rate.

Nine school districts in the state scored a 95.1 percent or higher, placing Beauregard

Parish among the top ten districts in the state with the seventh highest percentage of

graduates, said Cooley.

“This is the fourteenth year that the state has issued graduation rate data,” Cooley

continued, “and Beauregard Parish has been among the top school districts in the state and

among the highest ranking districts each of the fourteen years. In addition, we have

maintained a graduation rate above 90 percent for seven consecutive years.”

Every high school in the parish earned a 93.5 percent graduation rate or higher.

Seniors in 14 out of 15 subcategories listed for Beauregard Parish scored above 90 percent

including all ethnicities, males, females, non-economically disadvantaged, economically

disadvantaged, English learners, and Military cohorts.

The Department of Education has set a goal of all school districts achieving a 90

percent graduation rate or higher by 2025. Beauregard Parish ranks as one of 23 districts

among the 70 reported districts in the state to have a graduation rate above 90 percent.

Louisiana uses a Cohort Completion Rate analysis which tracks students entering the

ninth grade through graduation. For the current standings, information was compiled over

a four year period beginning with the 2015-2016 school year and ending in the spring of

2019.

Students who entered high school as first-time freshmen in the fall of 2015 were

tracked through the time of graduation. A graduate is defined as a student who received a

high school diploma in four years.

Graduation rates are used in the Department of Education’s evaluation of high

schools, counting for 25 percent of the School Performance Score. The overall graduation

rate for Louisiana was 80.1 percent.

The goal of the Beauregard Parish school system is to provide excellence in education

with a mission to graduate students who are prepared to meet the challenges of post-

secondary education or careers, Cooley continued.

“Graduation is the ultimate goal of our school system and the result of persistence on

the part of students, teachers, parents, and administrators,” Cooley concluded. “We will

continue to provide opportunities for Beauregard Parish students to attain their high school

diploma, preparing them for a successful future.”