A national report shows Kentucky double digit gains in the last decade in the number of high school graduates.
The Commonwealth’s graduation rate moved from 63% for the class of 2000 to 77% for the class of 2010. The increase of 13.5 points makes Kentucky the third most improved among all states.
The data is reported in a special issue of Education Week, a national publication that focuses on P-12 education. The report called “Diploma Counts” finds the upward trend in the graduation rate continues to be driven by improvements among minority students.
“While we have shown drastic improvement in the graduation rate, we still have a long way to go,” said Kentucky Education Commissioner Terry Holliday. “Our goal is that every student not only graduates from high school, but also graduates ready for college and career.”
The report indicates more than 11,000 students in the class of 2013 will fail to earn a diploma. That translates into 64 students dropping out each day. Dr. Holliday is optimistic that a new state law will help keep students in school by raising the dropout age from 16 to 18.
