Florida’s high school graduation rate increased by 3.1 percentage points over the last year despite the COVID-19 pandemic shifting classes online and waiving state exams.
In the Tampa Bay Area, Pinellas had a 91% graduation rate, with Pasco, Hillsborough and Polk coming in at 89, 88 and 86% respectively.
The rate rose from 59.2 percent in 2003-04 to 90.0 percent in 2019-20, which is a 30.8 percentage-point increase.
The most recent graduation rates released on all states by USED are the 2017-18 federal graduation rates. Florida’s federal graduation rate in 2017-18 ranked Florida #26 in the nation (tied with North Carolina).
According to the Department of Education, Florida’s graduation rate is 90 percent, but that does not mean that 10 percent of students in the cohort are dropouts. Students in a cohort can be classified as graduates, dropouts, and nongraduates. Nongraduates include students who have been retained and are still in school, attending adult education, received certificates of completion, or received GED-based diplomas.
For a complete breakdown of Florida's high school graduation statistics, click here.
