Missouri ranks eighth in the nation for high school graduation rates, according to a new national report published by Education Week. The state graduated 80.7 percent of its high school students in 2010, marking the second year Missouri has been in the top 10. Missouri's education commissioner Chris Nicastro says she credits the achievement to local schools’ increased efforts to keep students in school.
“We know that we still have lots of work to do,” Nicastro said. “We want to get all of our kids graduating. And the big challenge of course is to get every one of those children who graduates is prepared to go on college and career.”
Also according to the report, the current nationwide high school graduation rate is at its highest level since 1973. Still, while the U.S. is producing fewer dropouts, the report projects that one million students in the class of 2013 will fail to graduate.
