Graduation is the day all high school seniors have looked forward to since the summer started. There’s others that don’t want to or can’t experience graduation. There has definitely been an improvement of the graduation rate. In the past few years, there has been an increase of high school grads. Our school is improving but the rate isn’t as high as other schools in the district.

The graduation rate has gone up by one percentage but that is quite an improvement. This is the average for all the schools in Utah. The top schools with the most graduation rates from 2014 being Academy for Math Engineering and Science (AMES), Itineris Collegiate High School, Northern Utah Academy for Math, Engineering, and science (NUAMES), Utah County Academy of Science (UCAS), and Carbon High School  at more than or equal to 98% of their seniors graduating according to the Utah State of Education’s research.

Anne Tobin, a senior, plans on graduating. “I think it’s really awesome that more people are motivated to graduate and further their education,” Tobin said.

The school’s rate is at 84% and slowly making progress. In 2010, the rate was up at 93%. In 2011, the rate was at 80%, in 2012, the rate was at 82%, and in 2013, the rate was at 83%. The rate now is getting there but an extra push would probably be needed if the urgency for an improved rate wants to be increased.

With the graduation rate being so high, there is most likely an expectation for the 2016 graduates. New guidelines are being put into place for graduation which makes it hard to predict the number of  grads in this school. Guidelines such as passing a test used for granting citizenship in this country. The U.S. Citizenship test has been added to the list of graduation requirements.

Senior, Brayden Fox, also plans on graduating. “It’s really cool that people are committing to graduate,” Fox said.

The state wants to improve graduation rates by setting up more standardized testing. The results are proving otherwise. Most seniors have plans after high school like where they want to go for college, what they want to study in college, and what they plan to do when they graduate from college. The small percentage of seniors who don’t graduate have a better reason whether it be because of homelife or because they have found a better paying job that requires no further education. With 1.3 million students dropping out, (According to Dosomething.org) there has to be a reason.

“I think it’s a good thing people are graduating. That means that more people will have chances at a career that’s not flipping burgers,” Samantha Cudney, a senior, said.

The statistics prove otherwise but there is still room for improvements. Working on making sure high school seniors are ready for graduation has to become a priority. It is a proven fact that kids with a High School Diploma are most likely to earn higher wages and succeed in life regardless of color or race.