Despite pandemic, more Virginia students graduated in 2021

The second class to graduate during the pandemic hit a new record for on-time graduations.

Statewide, 93% of students who started high school in 2017 graduated, up from 92.3% last year. The dropout rate also hit a historic low, falling from 5.1% to 4.3%.

Most Hampton Roads districts bested the state average, but as a region, graduation rates lagged slightly behind — 91.7% of seniors in the seven cities graduated on time. York maintained its spot as second in the state among districts with over 1,000 students, followed by Hampton.

Last year’s seniors all spent at least part of the school year learning virtually. For the second year, the state waived some graduation requirements because of the pandemic’s disruptions.

State Superintendent James Lane said the class of 2021 showed “perseverance under extraordinary and challenging circumstances.” The emergency waivers “ensured that students were not prevented from graduating by pandemic-related factors beyond their control.”

Graduation rates in most districts were relatively static from 2020 to 2021, rising or falling by decimal points. The one major exception was in Portsmouth, where the graduation rate fell by more than 5 percentage points. It was the only district that didn’t bring high school students back in person during the 2020-21 school year.

Typically, graduation and dropout rates are a factor in whether high schools are accredited but the state has also temporarily waived accreditation.

Here’s how each school district fared compared to 2020:

• Chesapeake: 93.7% (94% in 2020)
• Gloucester County: 93.3% (92.7%)
• Hampton: 96.9% (96.2%)
• Isle of Wight County: 95.5% (92.5%)
• Newport News: 94.5% (93.9%)
• Norfolk: 85.8% (87%)
• Poquoson: 96.1% (95%)
• Portsmouth: 84.2% (89.8%)
• Suffolk: 86.1% (87.4%)
• Virginia Beach: 94.9% (94.2%)
• York: 97.6% (96.9%)
• Williamsburg-James City County: 94% (91.5%)

Sara Gregory, 757-469-7484, sara.gregory@pilotonline.com