Minnesota graduation rate hit new high in 2019

ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - The statewide graduation rate reached another historic high in 2019, according to new report released Thursday, but Minnesota education officials say more work is needed to close remaining gaps. 

The Minnesota Department of Education has released the class of 2019’s graduation rate data, which shows that, overall, 83.7 percent of high school seniors graduated in 2019—a slight increase from 2018, which also was a historic high for the state.   

The gaps in graduation rates between white students and black and Hispanic students are closing, according to the data. Since 2017, graduation rates have increased 5.2 percent for black students in Minnesota and 3.5 percent for Hispanic students. 

While graduation rates increased statewide for most racial and ethnic student groups in 2019, the graduation rate for American Indian students remained stagnant. The four-year graduation rate for American Indian students has remained at between 50 and 51 percent over the last few years. 

“Reaching that high school graduation milestone is a pivotal moment on a student’s path to success because it opens up so many different life options,” Education Commissioner Mary Cathryn Ricker said in a statement. “That’s why these gaps in our graduation rates are unacceptable. Students of all races and ZIP codes deserve the same opportunity at achieving the life they have always dreamed." 

The data also shows fewer students are choosing to drop out of high school. From 2018 to 2019, the overall statewide high school dropout rate decreased from 4.6 percent to 4.4 percent. It also dropped for every student group.