Statewide high school graduation rate rises, fewer students dropping out

Minnesota has reached a historic high graduation rate for the class of 2020.

Roughly 83% of high school seniors graduated in 2020, according to the Minnesota Department of Education’s update Thursday.

It’s part of a continued upward trend for the state’s four-year graduation rate, which has increased 1.3 percentage points in the past five years, MDE reported.

"The class of 2020 graduated while we were all just learning how to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic," MDE Commissioner Heather Mueller said in a statement. "This was a time of great uncertainty, and the perseverance of our students, educators and families demonstrates their commitment to rise to this moment and reach the end of their pre-K through grade 12 journey."

Although the statewide graduation rate increased for most racial and ethnic groups, MDE stated the graduation rate for Black students declined slightly (0.7 percentage points) from 2019 to 2020.

Meanwhile, fewer students are dropping out of high school, according to MDE data. The dropout rate decreased from 4.4% in 2019 to 3.7% in 2020.

Additional graduation data can be viewed via the Minnesota Report Card here.