GCS Graduation Rate Increases, 88% of GCS Schools Rated Excellent, Good, or Average on State Report Cards

In Greenville County, 88.4% of schools scored Excellent, Good, or Average, with 31.4% achieving the highest designation of Excellent, on the South Carolina Department of Education (SDE) annual school report cards for the 2023-24 school year. GCS schools scored significantly higher than the 18.4% schools across the state scoring Excellent and 81.4% scoring Excellent, Good, or Average.

The district’s high school graduation rate increased to 88.7%, the highest level in GCS history and an increase of 3.6 points over the previous year. Each high school’s graduation rate increased or maintained its level from the previous year. Additionally, 81.1% of the 2023-24 graduation cohort met the markers for College and/or Career Readiness, which is a 6.4% increase from last year.

The report card ratings, graduation rate, and college and career readiness results all point to the intentionality and positive impacts of the district’s Graduation Plus initiative, which is the district’s framework from Pre-K through 12th grade to ensure that GCS students graduate with a diploma PLUS college credit and/or industry certification.

“The increase in our graduation rate and the growth in college- and career-readiness demonstrate that Greenville County Schools continues to set a high standard for achievement," said GCS Superintendent Dr. Burke Royster. "This continued progress reflects the focus and shared commitment of our students, families and staff and the support of the GCS Board of Trustees. These outcomes are the result of our Graduation Plus initiative, which ensures that students are not only earning diplomas but also gaining college credits and industry certifications, preparing them for real-world success.”

The purpose of the annual state report card is to inform and report to parents and the community the performance of entire districts as well as primary, elementary, middle, and high schools.

The annual state report card rates Academic Achievement, Preparing for Success, Student Progress, Multilingual Learners’ Progress, and School Climate for elementary, middle, and high schools. Graduation Rate, College and Career Readiness, and High School Student Success are additional rated indicators for high schools. 

High schools are not rated on Student Progress, while Child Development Centers and Career Centers do not receive state report cards.

Of the 14 GCS high schools with a graduating class, eight achieved a higher graduation rate than the state, with Woodmont, Riverside, Mauldin, Hillcrest and Eastside High Schools each graduating more than 90% of the students who entered ninth-grade four years earlier. Fountain Inn High School will have its first graduating class in 2024-25.

The percentage of students in the GCS graduation cohort who are college- or career-ready increased more than six points over 2023 and now stands nearly 10 percentage points higher than the state’s rate. CCR designations are up 16.5% over the last three years. More than 85% of the district’s high schools increased the share of students earning CCR designation. In last year’s graduating class, 15% of students completed at least six credit hours of dual enrollment coursework, 32% completed a state approved CTE Completer Pathway and 18% completed a state-approved Work Based Learning Experience.