CALIFORNIA RANKS LOW FOR OVERALL GRADUATION RATE: BUT LOCAL SCHOOLS EXCEED THE STATE AVERAGE

Humboldt County, Ca-California places 32nd out of 50 states for overall high school graduation rate. Only 76-percent of students averaged graduation success for the 2010-2011 school year.The State of California wants high schools to achieve a 90 percent graduation rate. High schools in the Northern Humboldt Union High School District have done just that. Superintendent Kenny Richards said, "McKinleyville High School exceeded the graduation rate at 92.46 percent… Arcata High School is at 90.44 percent."Richards said that exceeding the state goal is not uncommon for the district. He added, "So we meet the goal of the state of California and so we are happy about that… we traditionally always exceed those goals from the state.”Eureka High also exceeded the state average. They have a graduation rate of 93.5 percent. Eureka City Schools Superintendent Fred Van Fleck added, "in comparison to the state I think we are doing a fantastic job."Van fleck added, "Really the key to keeping students in school is them finding the importance of them in school and seeing the value of them graduating from high school."California shared the 32nd spot with Utah, Washington, and West Virginia. The state of Iowa topped the chart with a 88 percent graduation rate.