Seven key stats with important implications for schools

6. Despite all these challenges, high school graduation rates are on the rise.

In the 2009–10 school year, some 3.1 million public high school students, or 78.2 percent, graduated on time with a regular diploma. That’s up from 75.5 percent in 2008-09 and 72.6 percent in 2001-02.

There are still troubling gaps in high school graduations rates across ethnicities, though. Among all public high school students, Asian/Pacific Islanders had the highest graduation rate in 2009-10 (93.5 percent), followed by Whites (83.0 percent), Hispanics (71.4 percent), American Indian/ Alaska Natives (69.1 percent), and Blacks (66.1 percent).

7. The percentage of students taking high school math and science courses also has risen.

The percentages of high school graduates who had taken math courses in algebra I, geometry, algebra II/trigonometry, analysis/precalculus, statistics/ probability, and calculus all increased from 1990 to 2009.

Similarly, the percentages of high school graduates who had taken science courses in chemistry and physics also increased between 1990 and 2009.

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eSchool News Staff

eSchool Media staff cover education technology in all its aspects–from legislation and litigation, to best practices, to lessons learned and new products. First published in March of 1998 as a monthly print and digital newspaper, eSchool Media provides the news and information necessary to help K-20 decision-makers successfully use technology and innovation to transform schools and colleges and achieve their educational goals.

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