The latest numbers on the graduation rate are out from the U.S. Department of Education, and Kentucky is among the leaders nationwide.
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, Kentucky’s 86 percent graduation rate in the 2012-13 school year is fourth highest in the United States. Only nine states have a higher rate and six are tied with Kentucky. The national graduation rate is 81 percent.
Kentucky’s most recent data from the 2013-14 school year shows even more improvement with a graduation rate of 87.5 percent, so it’s expected that when the new national data comes out next year, Kentucky will once again be among the leaders, Education Commissioner Terry Holliday said.
“This data reflects ongoing efforts that have been underway to keep students in school so they have a better opportunity to become college/career-ready,” Holliday said. “In the past four years we have not only increased the graduation rate, but also the college/career-readiness rate of our students, which now stands at 62.4 percent, up from 34 percent in 2010. That’s solid proof that we are on the right course and Kentucky is better preparing our children for postsecondary education and training than we ever have before.”
This is the first time in the past few years that Kentucky has been included in the national graduation rate data release after the state adopted a new, more accurate four-year cohort graduation rate calculation – the same as what most other states use.
The latest Kentucky public school data can be found online in the Kentucky School Report Card and the Open House public school data and information portal.
From Kentucky Department of Education