Trends in High School Dropout and Completion Rates in the United States: 2018

The report draws on a wide array of surveys and administrative datasets to present statistics on high school dropout and completion rates at the state and national levels. The report includes estimates of the percentage of students who drop out in a given 12-month period (event dropout rates), the percentage of young people in a specified age range who are high school dropouts (status dropout rates), and the percentage of young people in a specified age range who hold high school credentials (status completion rates). In addition, the report includes data on the percentage of students who graduate with a regular diploma within four years of starting ninth grade (adjusted cohort graduation rates) and data on alternative high school credentials. This report updates a series of NCES reports on high school dropout and completion rates that began in 1988.

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