By Lauren Northington

Nearly 1,500 new freshmen entered Richmond schools in 2012 to start their quest for a high school diploma.

Four years later, nearly one in five did not receive that important credential when graduation ceremonies were held last spring.

In total, 1,183 of those ninth-graders graduated on time — or 80.2 percent of the members of the city’s Class of 2016, according to the latest on-time graduation report from the Virginia Department of Education.

It seems apparent, though, that Richmond’s graduation rate represents another educational disappointment as it falls well short of the average graduation rate of 91.3 percent for Virginia’s 132 school districts.

In addition, the on-time graduation rate for the Class of 2016 in Richmond also represents a retreat from the Class of 2015, which had a reported graduation rate of 83.8 percent.

The Free Press was unable to reach Richmond Schools Superintendent Dana T. Bedden and School Board Chairman Jeff M. Bourne for comment Wednesday.

Just recently, Richmond Public Schools learned that only 14 of its 44 schools received state accreditation, and that 35 to 40 percent of city students were unable to pass state standardized tests in basic subjects such as reading, math, history and science.

Still, the new graduation report card is not all bad news for Richmond Public Schools.

It is an improvement from Richmond’s on-time graduation rate of four years ago. For the Class of 2012, the on-time graduation rate was 74.3 percent — six percentage points lower than in 2016.

Another bright spot: The state report indicated that the Class of 2016 had a smaller percentage of dropouts, just 10 percent compared with 19.5 percent for the Class of 2012 and 13.2 percent for the Class of 2015.

Still, the failure to earn a diploma can be life changing for students from Richmond and elsewhere.

According to a 2015 U.S. Department of Labor study, young people who do not complete high school are more likely to be unemployed longer and earn lower wages when they do get a job. In addition, the study found dropouts are likely to have shorter life spans and poor health compared to counterparts who graduate.

The study found that on average, workers without high school diplomas earned approximately $200 less per week than their counterparts with high school diplomas.

Nationally, the unemployment rate for workers without high school diplomas hovered around 8 percent last year, compared to an unemployment rate of 4.9 percent for workers overall.

For Richmond’s Latino students, these facts are especially worrisome.

Graduation rates for Richmond’s Latino students — a population that has doubled since 2014 — hovered around 50 percent this year. That is well behind the 82.8 percent state graduation rate for Latino students.

The figures also show that the dropout rate for Latino students in Richmond was 34.7 percent, the highest for any ethnic group in city schools.

Statewide, graduation rates have been increasing, which is in line with national trends.

Richmond’s neighbors reported higher graduation rates than the city, though not all reached the state average.

The on-time graduation rate for Chesterfield County’s Class of 2016 was 90.9 percent, while 95.4 percent of Hanover County’s Class of 2016 graduated in four years.

In Henrico County, 91.1 percent of the Class of 2016 graduated in four years.