High School Graduation

High School Graduation measures the percentage of ninth graders who graduate within four years and are considered regular graduates by the state. The National Center for Education Statistics annually collects the enrollment and completion data from which graduation rates are calculated. Data are not adjusted for the presence or quality of basic health and consumer health education in the curriculum, for continuing education programs or for other non-traditional learning programs. Also, individual states are increasingly altering graduation requirements, which may affect their reported number of regular graduates, their graduation rate and the comparability of these rates across time.

Education is vital as consumers must be able to learn about, create and maintain a healthy lifestyle and, when necessary, understand their options for care.

Table 21 displays the 2004 ranks, based on 2001 to 2002 data (National Center for Education Statistics, Washington, D.C., U.S. Department of Education). The rate varies from 89.8 percent of incoming ninth graders who graduate within four years in New Jersey to 49.2 percent in South Carolina. The national average is 68.3 percent, up 1.0 percent from the past year but lower than the 1990 rate of 72.9 percent.

The largest increases in reported graduation rates since the 2003 Edition occurred in South Dakota (up 5.9 percent) and New York (up 4.3 percent). New York's gain returns it to graduation levels similar to 1998. The largest decreases occurred in Michigan (down 3.2 percent) and in Alaska (down 3.1 percent). Michigan's graduation rates have fluctuated in the last few years - up one year and down the next.

Since the 1990 Edition, New Jersey, California and New Hampshire have increased graduation rates, by 10.1 percent, 1.1 percent and 0.6 percent, respectively. Rhode Island and Utah have the same graduation rate this year as in 1990. Eight states have experienced decreases of more than 10 percent in their graduation rates since the 1990 Edition. These include: Hawaii (down 19.7 percent), South Carolina (down 18.6 percent), Alaska (down 12.9 percent), Alabama (down 12.3 percent), New Mexico (down 11.7 percent), Nevada (down 11.6 percent), Georgia (down 11.4 percent) and Tennessee (down 10.5 percent).

¹ Source: 2001-2002, National Center for Education Statistics