The unreported gender gap in high school graduation rates
A welcome trend in recent decades has been the sustained rise in high school graduation rates up to a national average of 85% for 2017-18—as well as a significant narrowing of differences by race and ethnicity for this educational milestone (though gaps remain).
Policymakers are rightly focused on making sure even more young Americans successfully complete their high school education, and on further narrowing gaps between various subgroups. To that end, the Department of Education requires states to report high school completion rates for the prior academic year to track progress at a national level.