High School Graduation Rate Hits Record High in U.S., What About New York?

President Barack Obama announced new data Monday showing national graduation rates at record highs, with improvements across most states and every demographic. Graduation rates in New York, however, lag behind the national average.

The new report released by the National Center of Education Statistics covers graduation rates from the 2014-15 school year, with a national graduation rate at 83.2 percent — up more than 4 percentage points since the 2010-11 school year.

New York's graduation rate was 79.2 percent — that's up from 77 percent in the 2010-11 school year. White students in New York graduated at a 88.7 percent rate, compared with 84.9 percent of Asian students, 66.5 percent of black students and 66 percent of Hispanic students.

In specific groups, New York lags well behind national averages.

• Students with a limited English proficiency had a graduation rate of 36 percent, compared to 65.1 percent nationally.
• "Economically disadvantaged" students had a graduation rate of 71 percent, compared to 76.1 nationally.
• Students with disabilities had a graduation rate of 52.9 percent, compared to 64.6 percent nationally.

The District of Columbia made the greatest one-year progress between the 2013-14 and 2014-15 school years, improving its graduation rates by seven percentage points.

"You're an example of a school doing it the right way," Obama told the students Benjamin Banneker Academic High School in D.C., where the graduation rate is 100 percent. "When I took office almost eight years ago, we knew our education system was falling short when it came to preparing students… you are the reason we've made progress."

Obama stressed that a high school education is not enough to succeed in the modern job market.
"You've got to get a little bit more than what you're getting in high school," he said. "In order for you to succeed in the marketplace, you've got to be able to think creatively, you've got to be able to work in a team."

Those skills come from some amount of higher education, and the president stressed how important it is for students to apply for grant and scholarship funding for college. "We've made it simpler than ever," he told the students.

Image via Shutterstock

Written by Greg Hambrick