Some good news for the nation: high school graduation rates in the U.S. have actually been on the rise since 2010, reaching almost 86% in 2019. That was until the pandemic entered the situation and caused schools across the globe to be disrupted, dropping the average graduation score in at least 20 states across the US. Some experts also fear that even the next several graduating classes could become affected by the pandemic shutdown. Working to get our graduating classes back up to pre pandemic levels will be a struggle. We can look at this extensive graphic from the US Career Institute that shows just where these graduation rates ranked in 2019 across the US.
You may be surprised to find out the highest graduation rate in the US in 2019 was in the state of Montana, where 94% of seniors graduated. Following closely behind was Alaska, Maine and New Hampshire all with a 93% graduation rate. On the other end of the spectrum the US states with the lowest graduation rates included New Mexico with 86% graduation rate, Louisiana and Mississippi with 85%, Texas with 84% and California with the lowest rate in the nation in 2019 with an 83% graduation rate. This graph also charts high school graduation rates by county which allows experts to see which specific counties may need an additional push from educators. The county that was struggling the most in 2019 was Kenedy, TX with an appalling 26% graduation rate. Presidio, TX and Starr, TX were next in line with a 53% graduation rate. Texans definitely need to see what can be done to help these students with their education especially since these rates have dropped even lower since 2020.
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