After 15 Years Of Gains, For The First Time No State Is Below 71 Percent, A Sign Of Progress Toward Raising The National High School Graduation Rate
“The high school graduation rate is still the best on-track indicator for young adults and remains a major milestone on an education continuum that starts at birth and lasts a lifetime,” said Jennifer DePaoli, senior researcher and policy advisor at Civic Enterprises and lead author of the report. “We’ve seen clear growth, but in this new age of ESSA, if we ever want to reach a more equitable path for all, we must make sure states continue to do the more challenging work of raising graduation rates for key groups of students that are still behind the national average.”
The report examines three key areas: high school data trends across the country, the state of high school graduation rates for the largest historically underserved student subgroups and the lowest performing high schools, and recognizing that high school graduation is a milestone rather than the final destination, the connection between high school and postsecondary pathways.
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