School choice state sees record high school graduation rate in 2023

(The Center Square) – Data from the Florida Department of Education shows Florida high school students graduated at a record rate in 2023 after years of steady improvement.

According to a news release by Gov. Ron DeSantis, the agency announced that the graduation rates for the 2022-23 school year set a record at 88%, an increase of 0.7% over the previous school year.

Graduation rates are also 1.1% above the pre-pandemic graduation rate of the 2028-19 school year. For two years, 2021 and 2022, graduating seniors were exempt from required standardized testing and graduation rates spiked to 90% in both those years.

DeSantis said in a news release that graduation rates for almost all student subgroups have improved and steadily increased over the past five years.

“Florida’s graduation rate continues to climb because our educators place a sole focus on academics in the classroom,” DeSantis said. “Whether Florida students choose a four-year university or non-traditional post-secondary learning, they will have built a strong foundation to set them up for success.”

According to state data, students with disabilities had a graduation rate increase of 4.9%, with the total graduates coming in at 85.5% in 2022-23 compared to 80.6% in 2018-19.

Black student graduation rates increased by 1.7%, currently at 83.2%. American Indian or Alaska Native students had the highest overall graduation rates, expanding by 7.2% and rising from 77.5% in 2018 to 84.7% in 2022-23.

Graduation rates for Hispanic students increased by 0.9%, from 85.9% in 2018-19 to 86.8% in 2022-23, while economically disadvantaged students saw a similar increase of 0.9%, finishing last school year at 83.8%.

According to the data, Wakulla County had the state’s highest graduation rate at 97.6%, followed by Walton (95.7%), Indian River (95.6%) and Levy (95.4%) counties.

Jefferson County had the state’s worst graduation rate at 66.7%, which is an improvement from the 62.7% mark in the 2020 school year. Florida had only 11 out of 67 counties with graduation rates in the 70s or below .

Florida Commissioner of Education Manny Diaz, Jr. said in DeSantis’ news release that he is proud of what students in Florida have achieved for themselves and their futures.

“Since Governor DeSantis took office, high school graduation rates have climbed to unprecedented levels in our state,” Diaz said. “I’m so proud of our world-class educators and what this means for students, families and future generations of Floridians.”

Dropout rates are also decreasing yearly, with 2022-23 dropout rates at 2.8% compared to 3.4% in 2018-19.