In school year 2017–18, the national adjusted cohort graduation rate (ACGR) for public high school students was 85 percent, the highest it has been since the rate was first measured in 2010–11. Asian/Pacific Islander students had the highest ACGR (92 percent), followed by White (89 percent), Hispanic (81 percent), Black (79 percent), and American Indian/Alaska Native (74 percent) students.

This indicator examines the percentage of U.S. public high school students who graduate on time, as measured by the adjusted cohort graduation rate (ACGR). In this indicator, the United States includes public schools in the 50 states and the District of Columbia, except for the Bureau of Indian Education schools. State education agencies calculate the ACGR by identifying the “cohort” of first-time ninth-graders in a particular school year. The cohort is then adjusted by adding any students who immigrate from another country or transfer into the cohort after 9th grade and subtracting any students who transfer out, emigrate to another country, or die. The ACGR is the percentage of students in this adjusted cohort who graduate within 4 years with a regular high school diploma. The U.S. Department of Education first collected the ACGR in 2010–11.

Figure 1. Adjusted cohort graduation rate (ACGR) for public high school students, by state: 2017–18

NOTE: The ACGR is the percentage of public high school freshmen who graduate with a regular diploma within 4 years of starting ninth grade. The Bureau of Indian Education and Puerto Rico are not included in the U.S. average ACGR. The graduation rates displayed above have been rounded to whole numbers. Categorizations are based on unrounded percentages.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, Consolidated State Performance Report, 2017–18. See Digest of Education Statistics 2019, table 219.46.

The U.S. average ACGR for public high school students increased over the first 8 years it was collected, from 79 percent in 2010–11 to 85 percent in 2017–18. In 2017–18, the ACGR ranged from 69 percent in the District of Columbia to 91 percent in Iowa. More than three-quarters of the states (39) reported ACGRs from 80 percent to less than 90 percent.¹

Figure 2. Adjusted cohort graduation rate (ACGR) for public high school students, by race/ethnicity: 2017–18

¹ Includes other race/ethnicity categories not separately shown.
² Reporting practices for data on Asian and Pacific Islander students vary by state. Asian/Pacific Islander data in this indicator represent either the value reported by the state for the “Asian/Pacific Islander” group or an aggregation of separate values reported by the state for “Asian” and “Pacific Islander.” “Asian/Pacific Islander” includes the “Filipino” group, which only California and Hawaii report separately.
³ Estimated assuming a count of zero American Indian/Alaska Native students for Hawaii.
NOTE: The ACGR is the percentage of public high school freshmen who graduate with a regular diploma within 4 years of starting ninth grade. The Bureau of Indian Education and Puerto Rico are not included in the U.S. average ACGR. Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, Consolidated State Performance Report, 2017–18. See Digest of Education Statistics 2019, table 219.46.

In 2017–18, the ACGRs for American Indian/Alaska Native² (74 percent), Black (79 percent), and Hispanic (81 percent) public high school students were below the U.S. average of 85 percent. The ACGRs for White (89 percent) and Asian/Pacific Islander³ (92 percent) students were above the U.S. average. Across states, the ACGRs for White students ranged from 79 percent in New Mexico to 95 percent in New Jersey, and were higher than the U.S. average ACGR of 85 percent in 39 states and the District of Columbia. The rates for Black students ranged from 67 percent in the District of Columbia to 88 percent in Alabama. Arkansas, West Virginia, Texas, and Alabama were the only four states in which the rates for Black students were higher than the U.S. average ACGR. The ACGRs for Hispanic students ranged from 65 percent in the District of Columbia to 92 percent in West Virginia, and they were higher than the U.S. average ACGR in five states (Florida, Arkansas, Alabama, Texas, and West Virginia). For Asian/Pacific Islander students, ACGRs ranged from 72 percent in Vermont to 95 percent or higher in Delaware, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Florida, West Virginia, Connecticut, Texas, Maryland, and New Jersey, and they were higher than the U.S. average ACGR in 45 states and the District of Columbia. The ACGRs for American Indian/Alaska Native students ranged from 50 percent in South Dakota to 90 percent in Alabama, Maryland, and Tennessee, and were higher than the U.S. average ACGR in nine states (Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, West Virginia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Alabama, Maryland, and Tennessee).⁴

Figure 3. Adjusted cohort graduation rate (ACGR) of White and Black public high school students, by state: 2017–18

¹ The graduation rate gaps are calculated using the most precise graduation rates available for public use, which include some rates rounded to one decimal place and some rates rounded to whole numbers. These gaps may vary slightly from those that would be calculated using unrounded rates.
NOTE: The ACGR is the percentage of public high school freshmen who graduate with a regular diploma within 4 years of starting ninth grade. The Bureau of Indian Education and Puerto Rico are not included in the U.S. average ACGR. Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, Consolidated State Performance Report, 2017–18. See Digest of Education Statistics 2019, table 219.46.

The U.S. average ACGR for White public high school students (89 percent) was 10 percentage points higher than the U.S. average ACGR for their Black peers (79 percent) in 2017–18.⁵ White students had higher ACGRs than Black students in every state and the District of Columbia. Minnesota, the District of Columbia, and Wisconsin reported the largest gaps between the ACGRs for White and Black students (21 percentage points, 22 percentage points, and 24 percentage points, respectively).

Figure 4. Adjusted cohort graduation rate (ACGR) of White and Hispanic public high school students, by state: 2017–18

¹ The graduation rate gaps are calculated using the most precise graduation rates available for public use, which include some rates rounded to one decimal place and some rates rounded to whole numbers. These gaps may vary slightly from those that would be calculated using unrounded rates.
NOTE: The ACGR is the percentage of public high school freshmen who graduate with a regular diploma within 4 years of starting ninth grade. The Bureau of Indian Education and Puerto Rico are not included in the U.S. average ACGR. Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, Consolidated State Performance Report, 2017–18. See Digest of Education Statistics 2019, table 219.46.

The U.S. average ACGR for White students (89 percent) was 8 percentage points higher than the U.S. average ACGR for Hispanic students (81 percent) in 2017–18. The ACGRs for White students were higher than the ACGRs for Hispanic students in every state and the District of Columbia except for West Virginia, where the ACGR for Hispanic students was higher than the ACGR for White students (92 vs. 90 percent). The District of Columbia reported the largest gap between the ACGRs for White and Hispanic students (24 percentage points).

¹ Based on unrounded graduation rates.
² Estimated assuming a count of zero American Indian/Alaska Native students for Hawaii.
³ Reporting practices for data on Asian and Pacific Islander students vary by state. Asian/Pacific Islander data in this indicator represent either the value reported by the state for the “Asian/Pacific Islander” group or an aggregation of separate values reported by the state for “Asian” and “Pacific Islander.” “Asian/Pacific Islander” includes the “Filipino” group, which only California and Hawaii report separately.
⁴ Discussion of ACGRs for American Indian/Alaska Native students excludes data for the District of Columbia, Hawaii, and Vermont. The American Indian/Alaska Native data are suppressed for the District of Columbia and Vermont to protect student privacy and are unavailable for Hawaii.
⁵ Percentage point gaps are calculated using the most precise graduation rates available for public use, which include some rates rounded to one decimal place and some rates rounded to whole numbers to protect student privacy. These gaps may vary slightly from those that would be calculated using unrounded rates.

Glossary Terms

Data Source