Skip to main content

Number of Virginians graduating from high school slightly down in 2022, data shows

Slightly less Virginians graduated from high school in 2022 when compared to last year, data from the state’s board of education shows.

According to the Virginia Department of Education, 92.1% of public high school graduates graduated in 2022, which is a slight decrease from 2021 when 93% graduated. This year’s numbers are still higher than the Class of 2019 pre-pandemic graduation rate of 91.5%.



However, the dropout rate went up as well. According to state figures, 5.19% of the 98,648 students dropped out, up from 4.3% from the class of 2021.

Also, the number of Hispanic graduates went down by roughly 2%.

Black and White students were less impacted but still had lower graduation rates than 2021.

This is the breakdown by race of the Class of 2022 graduates:

  • American Indian – 86.34%
  • Asian – 98.25%
  • Black – 90.27%
  • Hispanic – 83.12%
  • Native Hawaiian – 96%
  • White – 94.88%
  • Multiple Races – 93.59%

Graduation rates went down for students with disabilities, economically disadvantaged students and English learners. According to the state’s department of education, 72.29% of English learners graduated in 2022, down from 77.2% in 2021.

Late last month, data released from the state’s Department of Education revealed 89% percent of Virginia school got full accreditation for the 2022-23 school year. That’s down from 92% in 2019-2020, the last time data was released on accreditation.

Completing the FAFSA: Everything you should know

Filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, which opens by Dec. 31, is one of the most important steps students and their families can take to pay for college. Some states now make completing the FAFSA a high school graduation requirement. The U.S. Department of Education awarded about $111.6 billion in federal grants, loans and work-study funds in fiscal year 2022, according to the most recent Federal Student Aid annual report. Those federal funds will assist roughly 9.8 million students in completing their education.
Read Next Story