DENVER — Colorado’s high school graduation rate continues to climb, albeit marginally.
State education officials announced Thursday that Colorado’s four-year graduation rate increased to 79 percent in 2017, the highest rate in seven years.
Data from the Colorado Department of Education report shows a 0.1 percentage point increase from 2016 when the rate was 78.9 percent.
The dropout rate in 2017 stayed the same compared to the previous year, holding steady at 2.3 percent.
“Our steady upward trend is a credit to the teachers, parents and students who are working incredibly hard, but we still have work to do, especially in narrowing the achievement gap,” said Colorado Education Commissioner Katy Anthes. “We see more students who graduate high school with work-ready credentials and who complete several college credits, which means they are ready for next steps after high school to enter higher education, get a living wage job or enter military service.”
The report also revealed improvement in the state’s graduation gap between minority students and white students.
The contrast between the white and minority graduation rates shrank by 1.7 points in 2017, narrowing the gap to 10.8 percent. Marking the seventh consecutive year the racial graduation gap narrowed.
