Muscogee high school graduation rates set records. See the results and others
The Muscogee County School District has achieved its highest graduation rate since the state started reporting results based on its current calculation 13 years ago.
MCSD’s 2025 high school graduation rate of 96.1% is 2 percentage points higher than 2024, according to data released by the Georgia Department of Education.
In other Columbus area school districts, Harris County’s graduation rate increased by 4.4 percentage points to 94.9% compared to last year, and Chattahoochee County’s graduation rate dropped by 0.2 percentage points to 88.8% compared to last year.
Here are more details about the graduation rate for local school districts and comments from their superintendents.
Muscogee County School District graduation rate
MCSD surpassed the state average (87.2%) for the 13th straight year and the national average (87.4% in 2023, the latest figure available) for the 11th straight year.
“We are proud of the continued improvement in our graduation rates and applaud the Class of 2025 for their hard work,” MCSD superintendent David Lewis said in a news release. “These results reflect the perseverance of our students and the intentional supports provided by their families, educators and district staff.”
Lewis emphasized MCSD’s commitment to helping all its students be successful.
“Whether they choose to enroll, enlist or enter the workforce,” he said, “we will continue to focus on early identification and strategic supports so that every student is a full-option graduate equipped to achieve their unlimited potential.”
When the MCSD board hired Lewis in 2013, the district’s graduation rate was 72.8%.
In an emailed interview, the Ledger-Enquirer asked Lewis to explain the most significant initiative MCSD implemented to improve its graduation rate.
“The continued improvement in our graduation rate is the result of a coordinated and sustained effort by our educators, school counselors and graduation coaches, who provide ongoing guidance and support to students and their families,” he said. “Contributing factors include the availability of credit recovery opportunities, as well as a comprehensive system for monitoring, tracking and verifying cohort data to ensure accuracy and timely interventions — particularly for students identified as being at risk of not graduating on time.”
Lewis added, “This milestone, along with the continued improvement in SAT scores that exceed state and national averages, is certainly worth celebrating, but graduation isn’t the finish line. Our aspirational goal is a 100% graduation rate — with every student emerging as a full-option graduate, fully prepared for success in college, career, and life.
“As part of our strategic planning process, we’ve held multiple focus groups with representative stakeholders to help develop a ‘Portrait of a Graduate.’ This framework outlines the knowledge, skills, mindsets and dispositions we will expect of every MCSD graduate, and it will serve as a foundation for shaping our district’s strategic plan moving forward.”
In 2011, Georgia started using what’s called that four-year cohort to calculate graduation rates, as required by the U.S. Department of Education. So this statistic measures the percentage of students who graduate from high school within four years.
Graduation rate for each high school in Muscogee County
All nine MCSD high schools have graduation rates above the state and national averages, all of them improved or remained at 100%, and six of them, Hardaway, Jordan, Kendrick, Northside, Shaw and Spencer, achieved their highest graduation rate this year.
Here are the graduation rates for each MCSD high school compared to last year:
- Columbus 100%, remained the same
- Rainey-McCullers 100%, remained the same
- Northside 97.3%, up 1.3
- Shaw 97%, up 1.9
- Kendrick 95.9%, up 3.2
- Hardaway 95%, up 2.7
- Spencer 94.8%, up 3.6
- Jordan 94.5%, up 2.8
- Carver 92.1%, up 2.5.
Harris County School District graduation rate
The Harris County School District graduation rate increased by 4.4 percentage points to 94.9% compared to last year. That result continues a recent trend of up-and-down graduation rates for HCSD:
- 2019 93.3
- 2020 89.2
- 2021 92.1
- 2022 90.7
- 2023 90.8
- 2024: 90.5.
The most significant factor in Harris County’s improvement on its graduation rate is “our unwavering focus on inspiring students to see graduation as both attainable and meaningful,” HCSD superintendent Justin Finney told the Ledger-Enquirer in an email.
“By creating instructional programs that connect directly to students’ futures, whether college, career or workforce readiness, we have given them a clear sense of purpose for completing high school,” he said. “This sense of purpose, combined with strong academic support and careful monitoring of student records, has helped more of our students stay on track and cross the graduation stage with confidence.”
Finney added, “Unless we have a 100% graduation rate, there will be always be needed improvements. Now we must look at the 5.1% who did not graduate, examine why, and plan accordingly so that we can continue to work toward the goal of 100%.”
Chattahoochee County School District graduation rate
The Chattahoochee County School District graduation rate dropped by 0.2 percentage points to 88.8% compared to last year. It’s the third straight decline after ChattCo reached its record high of 96.8% in 2022.
ChattCo superintendent Kimothy Hadley, who became the school district’s leader this summer, told the Ledger-Enquirer in an email, “I am most satisfied with our district’s solid graduation rate, which exceeds the state average. This success is largely due to the dedication and hard work of our ChattCo leaders, staff and students, who continually strive to support every learner.”
Hadley emphasized ChattCo’s goal is to graduate 100% of its students.
“To achieve this, our team has thoroughly analyzed the data from the 2025 cohort to identify root causes and pinpoint the subgroups that impacted our overall graduation rate,” he said. “As a result, we have developed a comprehensive plan to monitor students more closely, ensure accurate coding for students who transfer out and provide targeted support to those who need it most.”
Hadley noted ChattCo wants to prepare “every student for college and career readiness, empowering them to become productive contributors to society.
“The leaders and teachers at ChattCo are focused on equipping students with the essential skills and training needed for future success. Through intentional instruction, guidance, and support, we ensure that each student has the resources and opportunities necessary to achieve their goals and thrive beyond graduation.”
