NEWS

Mississippi graduation rate improves

The Clarion-Ledger
The Clarion-Ledger

Mississippi's graduation rate jumped nearly four percentage points in the 2014-2015 school year, but the rate for students with disabilities remains low.

Districts showed a four-year graduation rate of 78.4 percent for the 2014 school year, up from 74.5 percent the previous year. The national graduation rate average was 82 percent for the 2013 school year, the most recent numbers available.

State Superintendent Carey Wright is attributing the increase to school districts' efforts to increase attendance and target at-risk students.

“Those efforts, as well as the Mississippi Department of Education providing more technical assistance to districts and school counselors to help students explore multiple pathways to college and careers, have contributed to dramatic decreases in students leaving school and increases in graduation,” Wright said. “However, there are districts in the state that still struggle to keep students on the path to a high school diploma, which means we have more work to do.”

Mississippi's graduation rate for students with disabilities is 27.5 percent. The rate was 22.2 percent in 2013, the lowest nationwide.

"We are far from where we need to be when it comes to graduation rates for students with disabilities. The MDE will continue to provide technical assistance to help them support the educational needs of all students," Wright said.

District-level graduation and dropout rates can be found here.

State Superintendent Carey Wright