DOE Collects First Uniform High School Graduation Data

There is a new data collection system in place for high school graduation rates, and the numbers for 2011 were released this week.

High school graduates listen to a commencement speech from Vice President Joe Biden when the presidential campaign was underway in June 2012. According to new data from the U.S. Department of Education, none of the states have a high school graduation rate above 90 percent. The average graduation rate was 70 percent in the 2010-2011 school year. Getty Images/Joe Raedle

For the first time ever, the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) compiled data on the percentage of students who graduate high school within four years. The results that were released were unique in that nearly every state used similar methods for collecting data.

The new, state-synchronized method of determining graduation rates took into account students who have dropped out or who have not earned a typical high school diploma—factors that have been a concern when previously analyzing graduation rates.

Goals of the new graduation rate analysis include helping states that have waived No Child Left Behind show greater accountability; enabling states, districts, and schools to develop strategies that will reduce dropout rates; and aiming to see an increase in graduation rates, according to a DOE press release. 

Data was collected from the 2010–2011 school year. None of the states had a four-year graduation rate above 90 percent, but Iowa, Wisconsin, and Vermont had rates in the upper 80s. New Jersey had an 83 percent graduation rate, and New York had a 77 percent graduation rate. Ranked lowest was the District of Columbia at 59 percent.

Beth Reynolds is the executive director at the National Dropout Prevention Center/Network (NDPC/N), which focuses on issues related to dropout prevention and offers strategies designed to increase the graduation rates in schools nationwide.