MS making big strides in grad rate

Mississippi continues to make major strides in its K-12 education system.

This past week, the Mississippi Department of Education announced that the state's dropout rate fell to 8.5% during the previous school year while the high school graduation rate rose to a record-breaking 89.4%. 

For the past decade, the graduation rate has been improving from its rate of 74.5% in 2013. That year, the dropout rate was 13.9%. 

Mississippi’s recent graduation rate is higher than the national average of 86.5%, which was reported from the 2019-20 school year by the National Center for Education Statistics. 

Graduation rates for students with disabilities also saw an increase, up to 70% in the 2022-23 school year. Dropout rates for that category were recorded at 17.7%.

The statistics do not account for students who received a GED or certificate of completion but does account for students who entered high school as a freshman during the 2020-21 school year.  

Gov. Tate Reeves called the education gains in Mississippi “unprecedented.” (Magnolia Tribune 01/19/24) Graduation rate rises, dropout rate falls in Mississippi - Magnolia Tribune