WDE releases 2021-22 graduation rates
CHEYENNE, Wyo. (KIFI) - Wyoming’s graduation rates have remained statistically strong - above 80% since 2015-16. The Wyoming Department of Education (WDE) announced high school graduation rates were 81.8% in 2021-22, a decrease of .6% from 2020-21’s 82.4%, which was the highest rate reported in a nine-year span.
"Wyoming's resolve in keeping schools open during the COVID-19 global lockdowns of the 2020-21 school year has proven to be a win for our students and communities,” State Superintendent of Public Instruction Megan Degenfelder said.
“While graduation rates remain relatively stable, there remains work to do to improve rates going forward,” Degenfelder said. “One thing we can look to is the graduation rates of CTE students. The higher graduation rates of CTE students show that when we identify career pathways for students, and work with our business and industry stakeholders, students achieve great success.”
Students concentrating in a Career and Technical Education (CTE) program of study had much higher graduation rates than their peers.
Fifteen Wyoming school districts posted graduation rates of 90% or above, including:
- Sheridan #3, 100%
- Sublette #9, 100%
- Washakie #2, 100%
- Bighorn #4, 95.7%
- Sublette #1, 95.6%
- Fremont #24, 94.7%
- Uinta #4, 94.4%
- Teton #1, 93.8%
- Lincoln #1, 93.8%
- Laramie #2, 93.3%
- Park #1, 93.3%
- Johnson #1, 92.2%
- Fremont #2, 91.7%
- Weston #1, 90.9%
- Crook #1, 90.6%
Full graduation rate statistics are available here.
Since the 2009-10 school year, the WDE has calculated graduation rates using the Federal Four-Year Adjusted Cohort Methodology established by the U.S. Department of Education, complying with federal law that requires all states to calculate graduation rates the same way. Students are counted in the four-year, “on-time,” high school graduation rate if they earn a diploma by September 15 following their cohort’s fourth year. Five- and six-year graduation rates are also calculated, and can be viewed with the rest of the graduation rate data.
