National high school graduation rates at a four-decade high - The Washington Post: The percentage of students at public high schools who graduate on time has reached its highest level in nearly 40 years, according to the most recent federal government estimates released Tuesday.
Based on data collected from the states for the Class of 2010, the National Center for Education Statistics estimated that 78 percent of students across the country earned a diploma within four years of starting high school. The graduation rate was last at that level in 1974, officials said.
Students in Maryland and Virginia had higher graduation rates than the national average — 82.2 percent and 81.2 percent, respectively.
The District had a lower graduation rate than all but one state, with 59.9 percent of its students graduating on time. But it is not unusual for major cities to experience a higher dropout rate and lower graduation rate than states. One study found the graduation rate for the Class of 2005 in the nation’s 50 largest cities was 53 percent, compared with 71 percent in the suburbs.
