Correction (July 21, 2026): An earlier version reported 132 Virginia divisions in the 2023 comparison; the package contains 130. It also incorrectly said most record-low divisions peaked in 2021 and that the statewide range had not narrowed over five years. The corrected analysis shows 19 of the 38 peaked in 2020, 11 in 2021, and the 2023 range was 1.5 points narrower than in 2019.

In 2023, 38 of Virginia's 130 school divisions recorded their lowest graduation rate in five years of data. At the same time, 24 divisions recorded their highest. The two groups show sharply different local trajectories beneath the statewide result.

The Divisions at the Bottom

The 38 divisions at their worst-ever rate are not all small or rural. Norfolk City^↗ET, with an 1,800-student cohort, hit 81.9%. Bedford County^↗ET, with 710 students, fell to 82.5%. Portsmouth City^↗ET, with 991 students, dropped to 83.8%.

Their peak years were not concentrated in 2021 as an earlier version reported. Among the 38 record-low divisions, 19 peaked in 2020 and 11 peaked in 2021. Of the same record-low divisions, 5 peaked in 2019 and 3 peaked in 2022.

Twenty-two declined in both 2022 and 2023.

For all 38, the 2023 rate was lower than every other available year from 2019 onward.

The Divisions at the Top

The 24 divisions at their five-year high include both small systems and large ones. At their five-year peak, 14 of the 24 posted rates above 95 percent, including Virginia Beach City with a cohort of 5,111 students.

The gap between the highest graduation rate in the state (100 percent) and the lowest (72.4 percent in Richmond City) was 27.6 points in 2023. That was 1.5 points narrower than the 29.1-point range in 2019, but 2.6 points wider than the 25.0-point range in 2021.

Where the Records Landed

The record-high group sits toward the top of the distribution: 14 of 24 were above 95 percent. Only one of the 38 record-low divisions was above that threshold. Another 68 divisions were at neither a five-year high nor a five-year low.

Virginia's official statewide rate was 91.9 percent in 2023. That aggregate coexisted with a division minimum of 72.4 percent and a maximum of 100 percent, so the state average did not describe every local result.

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