Minnesota schools made some gains last year, but bigger gains will be needed to meet the statewide goal of achieving a 90-percent graduation rate by 2020.

The Minnesota Department of Education reported Tuesday that the statewide graduation rate rose 1.4 percentage points to 81.2-percent. The statewide data shows a modest improvement in the gap separating white and minority students, with the graduation rate among black students rising three percentage points last year and 10 points since 2011. Still, the graduation rate for black students in Minnesota is only about 60-percent.

The Rochester School District saw its overall graduation rate rise about 9-tenths of a point last year to just over 83.5-percent. Among black students, the graduation rate climbed almost 5-points to just over 66-percent. The biggest gains were among Hispanic and students with limited English skills. The graduation rate for Hispanic students shot up almost 12 percentage points, while the rate for limited English students improved by over 12 percentage points.

The graduation rate for white students in the Rochester Public Schools slipped less than half a point to 88.5-percent.

 

 

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