Graduation rates for Merced County high schools outpaced the state in 2021. Here’s the data

Graduation rates for public high schools in Merced County rose slightly through the first full school year of the COVID-19 pandemic, going up to 90.3% in 2021 from 90.1% the prior year, according to numbers released by the California Department of Education.

That’s 6.1% above California’s overall high school graduation rate average of 84.2% in 2021.

Out of 4,659 high school seniors enrolled at public high schools in Merced County during the 2020-21 school year, 4,208 graduated in four years, the Department of Education data shows.

“A big component of why our graduation rates in Merced County have continued to outpace the state average is because we have teachers, counselors, administrators, along with parents, that see the importance of a high school diploma, of completing all the coursework and making sure students are prepared to either enter the workforce or enter into post-secondary school,” said Nathan Quevedo, communications director for the Merced County Office of Education.

The Delhi Unified School District had one of the highest graduation rates in the county, seeing 98% of its high school students graduate in four years. Approximately 197 students were enrolled as high school seniors at Delhi High last year, and 193 graduated.

Hilmar Unified’s four-year graduation rate was also high, at 94.6%, graduating 175 out of 185 students. Hilmar High’s graduation rate was the highest in the county, at 99.4%, or 160 of 161 students, graduating in four years.

The Merced Union High School District, the biggest high school district in the county with six high schools and four alternative schools, also saw 94.6% of its seniors graduate or 2,521 of 2,665 seniors.

Atwater High graduated 440 out of 458 students, or 96.1%, while Buhach Colony High had one of the highest graduation rates in the county, with 99.1% of its students graduating in four years, or 427 out of 431.

El Capitan High saw 96.9% of its seniors graduate or 399 out of 416 students, and Golden Valley High School graduated 429 out of 451, or 97.3% of its graduating seniors.

Livingston High saw 281 out of 288 students graduate, putting their graduation rate at 97.6%, and Merced High graduated 376 out of 401, or 93.8%, of its 2021 seniors.

The Dos Palos-Oro Loma Joint Unified School District graduated 92.6% of its seniors last year, seeing 150 out of 162 students graduate after four years. Dos Palos High, the only regular high school in that district, graduated 111 out of 117 seniors for a school graduation rate of 94.9%.

The Los Banos Unified School District saw 718 out of 786 students graduate last year, putting the district-wide graduation rate at 91.3%. Los Banos High accounted for 303 of those students, with 290 of those seniors, or 95.7%, graduating last year.

Pacheco High, the only other high school in the Los Banos Unified School District, had 94.8%, or 366 of 386 seniors, graduate in 2021.

The Le Grand Union High School District had 91.1% of its seniors graduate in four years, at 123 out of 135 students graduating in 2021, and Le Grand High’s graduation rate was slightly better at 92.7%, or 101 out of 109 students graduating.

Gustine Unified saw 127 out of 140 seniors graduate last year, putting the district graduation rate at 90.7%. Approximately 108 of those seniors were enrolled at Gustine High, the only high school in the district, and 103 Gustine High School seniors graduated last year — 95.4% of GHS’s seniors.

State graduation rates

Statewide, the graduation rate dipped 0.6% to 84.2%, which state education officials credit to the effects of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

“Namely, the challenges that students and educators faced during the pandemic were multidimensional and disruptive to learning and mental health,” Tony Thurmond, the state superintendent of public instruction, said in a news release. “Our goal now is to move all students forward.”

The COVID-19 pandemic has created several challenges for local students in Merced County, although school officials stepped up efforts to ensure students and families had the resources kids needed to stay in school and be successful through another challenging school year.

“Being at home and being on the computer is much different than being in a classroom, so keeping students engaged was the toughest part,” said Alan Peterson, superintendent of the Merced Union High School District. “The commitment of our staff to provide our students with as good an education as possible under the circumstances made all the difference.”

This story was originally published February 22, 2022 at 1:00 PM.