Did COVID-19 help Fresno-area high school graduation rates? Here are the numbers

Graduation rates for high school seniors in Fresno County’s three largest school districts improved slightly compared to the year before.

Fresno, Clovis, and Central Unified all outperformed the state graduation rate for the Class of 2020, which was 84.3%, according to data from the California Department of Education.

The climb in graduation numbers at the end of the 2019/2020 school year came despite the coronavirus pandemic outbreak in March, which abruptly forced millions of students and teachers to end the year learning remotely.

Fresno Unified reported an overall graduation rate of 86.5% for the Class of 2020 compared to the 85.8% student graduation rate the prior year. Fresno’s Class of 2020 also had a higher percentage of students that met academic requirements for the University of California and California State University systems.

Last spring, 47% of graduates graduated meeting UC and CSU requirements, compared to 43% of graduates the year before.

FUSD officials did not respond to a request for comment.

Local and state education leaders chalked up the good numbers to student resilience and dedicated teachers. Still, many students who spoke with The Bee said the fact that schools were more lenient with assignments and grades also helped.

Elisha Mendoza graduated from Edison High school in 2020.

“I think that since COVID hit, school staff didn’t really know how to adapt to online teaching, so they become more lenient with requirements to graduate,” Mendoza said.

FUSD seniors graduated with the grades they received during the third quarter. During the final three months of the semester, most schoolwork counted as extra credit, with the exception of Advanced Placement classes.

However, neighboring Clovis Unified continued requiring students to work during the school year’s final weeks and also reported a higher graduation rate from the previous year.

CUSD reported 95.2% graduation rates for the 2019-2020 school year compared to 93.9% in 2018-2019.

Clovis Superintendent Eimear O’Farrell said that, despite pushing students to complete assignments, teachers were also encouraged to “give grace” due to the challenges of distance learning during the pandemic.

In a statement to The Bee, O’Farrell described the success as a “testament to the dedication of our educational team.”

“As we navigated the challenges of COVID-19 in the spring of the 2019-20 school year, we in Clovis Unified found a way to continue to hold our students accountable to our high academic standards as we supported them in graduating as successful seniors,” O’Farrell said. “I’m proud of our students and our team for creating an environment that allowed our students to keep learning even in the most challenging circumstances.”

Central also reported higher graduation rates at 87.9% in 2019-2020 compared to 86.3% the previous year.

This past fall, the Central Unified School Board voted to lower the number of credits required for graduation. The decision to reduce the required credits is to increase the district’s graduation rate, the board said during an October meeting.

Seniors will only need to earn 230 credits vs. the current 280. Central’s new graduation requirements will begin during the 2021-2022 school year.

Central Unified officials did not respond to requests for comment.