Florida Graduation Rate at All-Time High, 80.1 Percent

High school graduation is at an all-time high in Florida, reaching 80.1 percent, according to the state Department of Education.

Since 2006, when the state rate was nearly 10 percentage points lower, black students' graduation has grown 11.5 percent, to 68.4 percent. Meanwhile, Hispanic graduation is up 13 percentage points, to 77.3 percent.

For white students, the graduation rate is 86.8 percent, up 1.4 percentage points in one year.

I want to commend Floridas teachers, students, parents and school leaders for their dedication to helping their students learn and earn their high school diplomas, Florida Education Commissioner Gerard Robinson stated in a release. As educators, we each play a significant role in helping our students achieve academic success, and graduation is one critical step toward the path to college and career.

Students in Gulf and Gilchrist counties topped the state at 95.8 percent graduation rates, followed closely behind by Martin County at 95.7 percent.

At the other end, Jefferson County held at 58 percent graduation rate and Glades County was at 59.2 percent.

Overall, the statewide rate grew 1.1 percentage points in the past year.

The release added that dropout rates have continued to slowly decrease.

The numbers used by the state measure the percentage of these students who graduate within four years of their first enrollment in ninth grade.

For more information, visit: http://www.fldoe.org/eias/eiaspubs/pubstudent.asp.