Racial gaps in graduation rates are closing, but the issue persists. Barry Chin/The Boston Globe/Getty Images
U.S. high school students overall are graduating at a rate higher than ever before, and new data from the Department of Education show the same is true for minority students. Nearly every racial and ethnic subgroup has seen a growth in graduation rates that outpaces that of white students – a sign that the achievement gap is incrementally closing.
The graduation rates for black and Hispanic students increased by 3.7 and 4.2 percentage points, respectively, in two years, compared with 2.6 percentage points for white students, the department said Monday. American Indian students, as well as students from low-income backgrounds, those with limited English-language proficiency and students with disabilities saw graduation rates increase at a faster pace than the rate of white students overall, as well as faster than the national average. Only Asian/Pacific Islander students saw slower graduation growth than white students.
The largest gains occurred among American Indian students. In the 2010-11 school year, the group had a graduation rate of 65 percent. By 2012-13, the graduation rate was 69.7 percent – a two-year increase of nearly 5 percentage points.
Although the nation's overall graduation rate reached an all-time high of 81 percent in the 2012-13 school year, white students still graduate at a much higher rate than most other subgroups, at 86.6 percent. Asian/Pacific Islander students comprised the only subgroup with a higher graduation rate than white students, at 88.7 percent in 2012-13. The national graduation rate increased from 79 percent in 2010-11 to 81 percent in 2012-13.
Graduation rates for black, Hispanic and American Indian students grew at a faster pace than the rate for white students. Allie Bidwell for USN≀ Source: U.S. Department of Education
The gap between Hispanic and white students closed by 1.6 percentage points in two years, from 13 percentage points to 11.4 percentage points. Between black and white students, the gap narrowed by 1.1 percentage points, from 17 percentage points in 2010-11 to 15.9 percentage points in 2012-13. The combined black/Hispanic-white achievement gap closed by nearly 2 percentage points, dropping to 13.4 percentage points in 2012-13.
The growth in high school graduation rates for most subgroups outpaced the national average. Allie Bidwell for USN≀ Source: U.S. Department of Education
In its release of the data, the department also plugged its priorities for replacing the Elementary and Secondary Education Act – more commonly known as No Child Left Behind – with a law that "not only ensures students are prepared for college, careers and life, but also delivers on the promise of equity and real opportunity for every child."
Although the sweeping education law has been widely criticized as a flawed and outdated piece of legislation that placed too much emphasis on testing, legislators have credited No Child Left Behind with bringing a focus to the achievement of student of different races and backgrounds. Before its enactment in 2002, schools were not required to separate data on student academic progress by race and ethnicity, English proficiency and disability status.
Duncan in January detailed the department's priorities for an overhauled No Child Left Behind. While he said he'd like to see efforts to reduce unnecessary testing, the secretary said some form of annual assessment should stay in place to ensure students are progressing in their learning.
"The number of kids in this country who get to be juniors and seniors in high school and think that they’re on track to be successful in college, and they’re not even close, it’s heartbreaking," Duncan told reporters after his speech. "It’s absolutely unfair when kids play by all the rules and do all the right things and still find out they’re not anywhere near where they need to be."
Allie Bidwell is an education reporter for U.S. News & World Report. You can follow her on Twitter or reach her at sbidwell@usnews.com.
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