Graduation Rate For Students With Disabilities Shows Improvement
According to data from the 2016-2017 school year, graduation rates for students with and without disabilities increased. (Bettina Hansen/The Seattle Times/TNS)
The high school graduation rate for students with disabilities across the nation is on the rise again, new federal figures indicate.
For the 2016-2017 school year, the graduation rate for those with disabilities reached 67.1 percent.
That’s up from 65.5 percent the previous year and represents the sixth year in a row that the rate has increased.
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The uptick for those with disabilities comes as the overall graduation rate for students across the country grew to 84.6 percent, a record high.
The numbers come from a report released this month by the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics. The agency’s annual reporting measures the number of high school students who earn a diploma within four years.
Data specific to students with disabilities reflects significant variation across states, with a high of 83.8 percent in Arkansas and a low of 36.4 percent in Mississippi.
The Education Department has suggested that these disparities could be due at least in part to reporting differences.
