The Beehive State’s graduation rate fell by 5.3 percentage points between 1998 and 2008, while the average graduation rate nationwide rose by 6.1 percentage points during that same period, according to Education Week’s annual Diplomas Count report released Tuesday. In 2008, Utah’s graduation rate was 71.9 percent, according to the report, slightly beating the national average of 71.7 percent. The report ranked Utah 30th in the nation for its 2008 graduation rate.
But Judy Park, state associate superintendent, said she doesn’t believe that data. According to state data, Utah’s graduation rate actually rose to 90 percent in 2010, and in the three years before then, it held steady at 88 percent. The state doesn’t have data that can be compared between 1998 and 2008 because it changed its method of determining graduation rates during that time. The difference comes down to how graduation rates are calculated, Park said. Education Week uses a different formula and different numbers than the State Office of Education. Salt Lake Tribune
