Graduation Rate
Nearly One in Four Richmond Students Drops Out. At One School, It's Nearly Half.
Richmond City's 23.8% dropout rate is nearly five times the state average. George Wythe High had 48.4% of its cohort drop out in 2023.
Virginia
Education News & Data
Local education reporting from every corner of Virginia, grounded in Virginia Department of Education data.
Fairfax County Graduates 93% of Its Students. Three of Its Schools Tell a Different Story.
Fairfax County's 93.4% graduation rate masks three alternative schools where 40-79% of students drop out, serving 431 students where dropping out is the majority outcome.
One in Seven Virginia Students Is an English Learner
Virginia added 14,686 English learners in two years while total enrollment fell. Two divisions are now majority-LEP, and the growth is spreading statewide.
Danville's Graduation Rate Has Fallen Every Year Since 2019. Its Dropout Rate Has Nearly Doubled.
Danville City's graduation rate dropped from 81.8% to 73.3% over four years, while its dropout rate climbed from 9.4% to 17%, the largest increase in Virginia.
One in Three Virginia Divisions at Record-Low Enrollment
43 of Virginia's 131 school divisions hit all-time low enrollment in 2025, from Virginia Beach to Highland County's 208 students.
More Coverage
School Choice
Fairfax County Lost 8,371 Students While Its Population Grew
Virginia's largest school division lost 4.4% of its enrollment since 2020 even as its school-age population increased by 9,000. Where did the families go?
District Spotlight
Hampton City Graduates 96% of Its Students. Most Larger Divisions Cannot Say the Same.
Hampton City graduated 96.4% of its 1,461-student cohort in 2023, outperforming wealthier suburban divisions like Stafford and Chesterfield.
Demographics
One in Five Virginia Students Is Now Hispanic
Hispanic enrollment crossed 20% for the first time in 2024-25, adding 59,229 students since 2017 while Black enrollment fell. The gap between the two groups shrank to 14,794.
Equity
In One Virginia Division, 79% Earn an Advanced Diploma. In Another, 17%.
Virginia's Advanced Studies diploma share ranges from 79% in Goochland County to 17% in Giles County, a gap that maps onto wealth and geography.
Enrollment
Three in Four Virginia Divisions Never Recovered from COVID
Five years after the pandemic, 96 of 131 Virginia school divisions remain below pre-COVID enrollment. The five largest losers account for 45% of the gap.
Graduation Rate
Nine in Ten Virginia Students Graduate on Time. The Pandemic Bump Is Wearing Off.
Virginia still graduates more than 91% of its students, but the 93% pandemic-era peak in 2021 has eroded, with 78 of 130 divisions sliding back.
District Spotlight
Norfolk Has Lost Students Every Year for 22 Years
Norfolk Public Schools has declined every single year since 2003, losing 9,913 students. Now the Navy city is closing nine schools to match a student body that may never come back.
Demographics
White Students Are Now 43% of Virginia's Schools
Virginia crossed the majority-minority threshold in 2014. Since then, white enrollment has fallen by 106,000 students and 13 more divisions have flipped.
Enrollment
Virginia's 19% Recovery
Virginia recovered less than a fifth of students lost to COVID. Five years later, enrollment is still sliding and the forces behind it are structural.
Enrollment
Virginia Publishes 2024-25 Enrollment Data
VDOE releases 2024-25 data showing 1,261,501 students statewide, down 36,511 from peak, with only 19% of losses recovered.