(WXIA) -- The public school graduation rate in Georgia continues to climb.

The Georgia Department of Education announced Wednesday that the state's graduation rate was 71.5 percent in 2013 -- almost two points higher than in 2012 and four points above 2011's rate.

Every state uses a U.S. Department of Education-mandated four-year adjusted cohort rate to calculate graduations. It tracks the number of students who graduate from high school within the standard four years.

State superintendent Dr. John Barge said the more rigorous calculation method still shows an increase in Georgia's graduation rate.

"Despite the economic challenges our districts are facing, we have more high school students graduating today than we have had in several years, which is a testament to the hard work of our students and teachers," Barge said in a statement.

DeKalb County's 2013 four-year graduation rate was 58.9 percent.

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. -- The Supreme Court of Georgia has upheld a statute that allowed Gov. Nathan Deal to suspend six members of the DeKalb County School Board, including its chairman.

In an opinion released Monday, Georgia's high court said the statute "does not violate the Georgia Constitution."

Board chairman Dr. Eugene Walker and five others were suspended in February, two months after the DeKalb County School District was put on accredited probation by the Southeastern Association of Colleges and Schools.

The suspensions occurred under Georgia's School Board Suspension Statute of 2010, which places school systems on a level of accreditation that's only one notch above complete loss of accreditation "for school board governance related reasons."

ATLANTA -- There was little change in SAT scores between Georgia's Class of 2013 and Class of 2012, the Georgia Department of Education announced Thursday.

About 75 percent of Georgia's high school seniors took the SAT in 2013, compared to 43 percent nationally. Georgia students earned a collective score of 1452 out of 2400 -- the same score as last year. The national average is 1498.

Overall, Georgia's senior increased two points in critical reading and decreased two points in math. The overall writing score stayed the same from 2012 to 2013. About 36 percent of Georgia's test takers met the SAT College and Career Readiness Benchmark.