High School Graduation Rates: Progress Is Real, But Slowing, Indicating Urgency to Double Down on Equity Gaps

The national high school graduation rate reached an all-time high of 84.6 percent in 2017, up from 79 percent in 2010 and 71 percent since 2001. Hispanic, Black, and low-income students have continued to drive this increase with Hispanic students reaching an 80 percent graduation rate in 2017, Black students climbing to a 77.8 percent graduation rate, and low-income students reaching a 78.3 percent graduation rate. This progress over the last decade and a half means that more than 3.5 million additional students have graduated on-time instead of dropping out. Despite these gains, progress has slowed, signaling the need for a concerted and coordinated response at the national, state, community, and school levels to meet the needs of every young person and close remaining gaps. 

Connecting the Dots: High School and College Readiness

In recognition that high school graduation does not represent a finish line, this year’s Building a Grad Nation report, released today, includes a first-ever analysis of secondary school improvement to assess whether gains in high school graduation rates nationally and by state are accompanied by better preparation for postsecondary education.

The Secondary School Improvement Index uses the percent of students scoring proficient in reading and mathematics on the 8th grade NAEP exam, the percent of high school graduates who score a three or higher on Advanced Placement tests, and the percent of students who graduate on time within four years to determine the extent to which states have improved both graduation rates and academic outcomes. This analysis indicates there is no strong evidence at the national level that gains in high school graduation rates have come at the expense of college readiness. And, in most states, improvements in other measures of secondary school success have coincided with graduation rate increases—signaling that increases in high school graduation rates represent legitimate gains in preparedness. This is balanced by the fact that nearly one third of states did not experience these outcomes and can do better in making gains in both high school graduation rates and other indicators of academic achievement.

Closing Gaps To Reach 90 Percent Graduation Rate 

Despite steady progress, the nation remains off-pace to reach the 90 percent graduation rate goal, which would require graduating an additional 199,466 more students on time and more than doubling the annual graduation rate of gain from since 2011 through 2020. To achieve an equitable path to 90 percent, the majority of these additional graduates would have to be students of color, low-income students, and students with disabilities.

The 2019 Building Grad Nation report provides the first-ever glimpse of homeless students’ graduation rates. Homeless students face multiple barriers to graduation above and beyond poverty alone, and preliminary data suggest that this population may have the lowest graduation rate of any subgroup in the country.

  To read the full report and to access state and district data and other resources, visit: americaspromise.org/2019-building-grad-nation-report