On Monday, President Obama announced that the high school graduation rate reached 83 percent in the 2014-2015 school year, a record high in the United States. The high school graduation rate has increased at a steady pace since the 2010-2011 school year, which was the first year all states used a consistent measure of high school completion. According to the White House, things are looking pretty good:
“[T]he 2014-2015 graduation rates released today show progress for all reported groups of students, including students of color, low-income students, students with disabilities, and English learners. Black, Hispanic, and Native American students continued to narrow the gap between their graduation rates and those of their white peers, even as all groups made progress.”
Charts provided by the White House blog show the African American student graduation rate increased 7.6 percent since 2010-2011, from 67 to 75 percent, while the Hispanic student graduation rate increased from 71 to 78 percent, and that of American Indian/Alaska Native students increased from 65 to almost 72 percent. English learners saw an 8 percent increase, from 57 to 65 percent.
CNN reports that Education Secretary John King credited “teachers and families and students in their school community” for record high graduation rates but also praised the Obama administration’s investments in technology and early education.
(Via CNN & The White House)