The Wyoming Department of Education announced last year's graduation rates this week and the state has seen an increase for the fifth straight year.

The department says students achieved an “on-time” graduation rate of 81.7 percent in 2017-18, an increase of 1.5% over last year.

All three Albany County high schools failed to reach the top fifteen with a 90 percent graduation rate but saw a 3 percent increase from the previous year coming in at 82.4 percent.

Laramie High School had the highest rate in the district at 88 percent, a nearly 4 percent increase from the previous year, while Rock River High School graduated almost 78 percent. Whiting High School graduated just 33.3 percent, the lowest in the state.

Fifteen school districts reached 90 percent and four had a perfect 100 percent graduation rate; Fremont #2, Fremont #6, Park #16, and Sheridan #3.

83.6 percent of female students and 79.9 percent of male students in the state graduated on time.

“We set high goals for graduation rates in our plan for the Every Student Succeeds Act, and this increase - for a fifth straight year - just proves that when we work hand-in-hand with our school districts, good things continue to happen,” said Superintendent of Public Instruction Jillian Balow in a department of education release. "Raising the graduation rate is a conscious, concerted effort by all. For students getting a high school diploma is a watershed moment - and it means they are now ready to start a career, go off to college, or join the military.”

The department says it has calculated graduation rates using the Federal Four-Year Adjusted Cohort methodology established by the U.S. Department of Education since the 2009-10 school year, 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.

More details on graduation numbers in the state can be found here: Wyoming Department of Education Graduation Rates.

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