BY TRIBUNE STAFF

Great Bend High School’s four-year graduation rate was 84 percent in 2015, according to information from the USD 428 administration. Eighty-six percent of female students and nearly 82 percent of male students graduated in four years.

Some students who don’t graduate in four years are able to finish in five. For example, the four-year graduation rate in 2014 was 78.4 percent, but the five-year overall graduation rate was 81.7 percent.

The graduation rates peaked in 2012 at 86.4 percent (89.2 for the five-year rate), after dropping to 70.9 percent in 2009. But the numbers weren’t always recorded that same way. For example, students who attend Barton County Academy have been counted some years and not counted in other years.

Data on students who withdraw from GBHS before graduation show most are white males who are 16-18 years old. The most common reason for withdrawal is that a student quit attending the school. The next most common reason is that the student left to attend the Barton County Academy or to earn a GED diploma. Other reasons were “expelled,” “ran away” or “unknown.”

The good news in 2016: The number of students who “just quit” is down, Assistant Superintendent Kris Thexton said. That number was 12 this past school year, compared to 20 in 2015.