Tennessee posted its highest-ever graduation rate on record in the 2016-17 school year after years of steady improvement.
The state saw 89.1 percent of all high school students graduate from its districts, Gov. Bill Haslam and Tennessee Education Commissioner Candice McQueen announced on Thursday.
Overall it has increased 3.6 percent since the 2010-11 school year, according to a news release. This year, graduation rates increased in nearly 56 percent of districts with high schools.
“Teachers and educators in Tennessee have worked tirelessly to support students and these record graduation rates show their hard work is making a difference,” Haslam said in the release. “As more students graduate from high school, we are committed to helping them go to college, succeed and become skilled members of Tennessee’s workforce. The graduation rate is reflective of the many gains we are making in education in our state.”
Tennessee's high school graduation rate in 2015-16 increased a point — to 88.5 percent of all students.
The 2016-17 graduation rates follow along the same upward improvement. Notably:
- 13 districts improved graduation rates by 5 percentage points or more.
- The district with the most significant gains was Lake County, up 23.1 percentage points over last year.
- 43 districts have graduation rates at or above 95 percent, up from 36 districts last year.