Gwinnett Daily Post

ATLANTA -- Buford City Schools and Gwinnett County Public Schools were among the districts with the highest percentage of students who passed the Georgia High School Graduation Test this spring.

At Buford High School, 91.1 percent of all 11th-grade students passed the test the first time they took the mandatory high school exit exam, according to the Georgia Department of Education.

The only school district that surpassed Buford City's passing rate was Trion City, with 92.7 percent of first-time test-takers passing the test.

In Gwinnett, 84.3 percent of high school juniors passed the exam on their first attempt. The state's largest school system had one of the highest passing rates in the metro Atlanta area: Cobb's passing rate was 80.8 percent, and Fulton's was 82.6 percent.

In Barrow County, 68.8 percent of 11th-graders passed the test.

The GHSGT is given to high school students for the first time in the spring of their junior year. All four portions of the test, plus the Georgia High School Writing Test, must be passed for a student to receive a full diploma from a public high school. Students can retake the GHSGT as many times as needed to pass the exams.

The school-level results will be available no later than June 9, Georgia Department of Education officials said.