At 83.8 percent, Utah's graduation rate towers above the nation's 69.9 percent. Of the nation's 50 largest school districts, Jordan School District, Utah's largest, has the highest graduation rate, at 88.5 percent. Granite School District is seventh.
"Utah has traditionally had a very good graduation rate, and we're probably benefiting somewhat by the method Education Week uses to calculate its graduation rate," said Mark Peterson, Utah State Office of Education spokesman.
Education Week's ranking used 2004 data that is part of Editorial Projects in Education's annual analysis, which counts all graduates, not just those students who entered in ninth grade. Utah's ranking changes year to year and can be higher or lower depending on the methodology used to calculate the graduation rate.
But this year, the state is soundly at the top, coming in 30 percentage points higher than South Carolina, which has the lowest graduation rate in the nation.
The news comes a week after the state released numbers showing 26 percent of 2007 graduates failed Utah's high school exit exam, meaning they could not pass at least one portion of the Utah Basic Skills Competency Test. Lawmakers required the exam to ensure students are mastering basic math, reading and writing skills.
The test results and graduation rates are separate measurements, said Judy Park, director of testing for the State Education Office. They judge different students at two different points in time. Students can fail the test yet still meet the state's graduation requirements.
"It's kind of a complicated picture," she said.
Across the country and in Utah, Tuesday's data shows that ethnic minorities continue to have significantly lower graduation rates than white students. For example, only 61.7 percent of Latino students graduated in 2004 in Utah. Similarly, 65.5 percent of black students graduated that year. Yet Utah's numbers are higher than the national averages for those groups.
Jordan's success relates to multiple factors, Superintendent Barry Newbold said Tuesday. Those include "great teachers" who are well-trained and hard-working, he said. Students who are willing to work hard and supportive families who are involved in their child's education also play a role.
The district's more homogenous student population could also impact the numbers.
Despite this apparent success, Jordan School District will split into two districts if east-side voters decide to break away later this year. Newbold thinks the first-place ranking should affect people's opinion about a potential division.
"It should make people weigh very carefully decisions that may be made in the future," he said.
