SALT LAKE CITY — A new report shows Utah's public school graduation rate reached a new high of 88.2% in 2020. This marks the eighth straight year of growth in the state's high school graduation rate.
In addition, the dropout rate for high school students is at 10% for the 2020 school year, which is the lowest it's been since 2015.
Data on graduation and dropout rates was compiled from over the past five years. In 2019, the graduation rate was at 87.4 percent and the dropout rate was 10.6%.
Below is a chart with specific data on dropout and graduation rates since 2015.
The report shows that rates rose in seven of the nine student demographic groups including students. See the chart below for exact statistics on each demographic group.
A 1.7% graduation rate decline was seen in students who identify as Asian and a 6.4% decline was seen in students who identify as American Indian.
According to the report, the African American and Black student group has seen the greatest growth over the five years; improving by over eleven percentage points from 2015 through 2020.
The Caucasian student group had the highest graduation rate for 2020 with 90.7% of students meeting requirements for graduation.
“Utah students showed remarkable resiliency by overcoming the obstacles that the pandemic put in their path last spring to complete their education on time,” said State Superintendent of Public Instruction Sydnee Dickson. “While graduation ceremonies looked different last spring, efforts to support students to demonstrate readiness to graduate through remote learning paid off. We commend students, parents, educators, and all those involved in the ecosystem of education in helping our students have choices for their future through taking this first step of high school graduation.”
To see specific numbers on individual schools in Utah and to read the full report, click here.
