Greenville County Schools hit record 90.6% graduation rate

The Greenville County Schools high school graduation rate has increased to 90.6%, the highest level in GCS history.

Increasing 1.9 points from the previous year, the graduation rate has risen a total of 18 points since 2012. Additionally, the district says that 85% of the 2024-2025 graduation cohort met the markers for College or Career Readiness, which is a 20-point increase in five years.

South Carolina Department of Education Report Cards show 97.7% of GCS schools scored Excellent, Good or Average, a 9-point increase over 2023-2024. According to the district, two of every five GCS schools achieved the highest designation of Excellent for the 2024-25 school year.

GCS students were also shown to have outperformed their state and national peers on the 2025 SAT and ACT standardized tests. Passage rates on Advanced Placement exams also improved as compared to 2024.

The district attributes the rise in graduation rate and test results to their Graduation Plus initiative, a effort to ensure GCS students graduate high school with some college credit or industry certification.

“From early learning through high school, our students, staff, families and community partners are working together to ensure that every student graduates prepared for the next step, whether that’s college, career or military service," said GCS Superintendent Dr. Burke Royster. These results affirm that our collective commitment to academic excellence and real-world readiness is making a lasting difference for students across Greenville County Schools.”

Here's a look at how the district compares to the rest of the state.

Graduation Rate

Of the 15 GCS high schools, 11 achieved a higher graduation rate than the state, with Blue Ridge, Eastside, Fountain Inn, Greenville, Hillcrest, J.L. Mann, Mauldin, Riverside and Woodmont High Schools each graduating more than 90% of the students who entered ninth-grade four years earlier. Fountain Inn High School’s first class of seniors had a graduation rate of 94.5%.

Greenville County Schools vs State of South Carolina - Graduation Rate

Graduation Rate by High School 

College and Career-Readiness

The percentage of students in the GCS graduation cohort who are college- and career-ready increased by nearly four points over 2024 and now stands nearly 10 percentage points higher than the state. 

Greenville County Schools vs State of South Carolina – College & Career Readiness

Report Cards

The purpose of the annual state report card is to inform and report to parents and the community the performance of entire districts as well as primary, elementary, middle and high schools.

The annual state report card rates Academic Achievement, Preparing for Success, Student Progress, Multilingual Learners’ Progress and School Climate for elementary, middle and high schools. Graduation Rate, College and Career Readiness and High School Student Success are additional rated indicators for high schools. 

High schools are not rated on Student Progress, while Child Development Centers and Career Centers do not receive state report cards.

Standardized National Assessments

According to the district, on the SAT test, the average total score for GCS students was 1020, which is 24 points higher than the national average (996) and 11 points higher than the state average (1009).

Six high schools scored above the state and national SAT average. These schools include Riverside (1106), Wade Hampton (1079), JL Mann (1067), Greenville (1054), Mauldin (1054) and Eastside (1048).

The Class of 2025 earned an average ACT composite score of 19.6 on the ACT’s 36-point scale, according to the district. This exceeds both the state and national average composite scores. Statewide, public school students recorded an average composite score of 18.2, compared to a national average composite score of 19.4. The national score reflects both public and private school test-takers.

Six high schools scored above the state and national ACT average composite score. These schools include Greenville (22.7), Riverside (22.6), Eastside (21.6), Mauldin (21.2), JL Mann (21.1) and Wade Hampton (20.7).

On AP exams in 2025, the passage rate (score of 3 or higher) for GCS was 72.7%, which is an increase of more than three points over 2024. Mauldin High had the highest AP exam passage rate of 87.8%. Travelers Rest High had the second highest rate of 87.0%. J.L. Mann High Academy had the largest number of students taking AP exams (615), and Greenville Senior High Academy had the largest number of AP exams taken (1,188).

For more information on Greenville County Schools, visit their website.