Revisited: Graduation Rates

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Yeah, closer look at Florida's record graduation rate. Florida's graduation
rate did rise to a non pandemic record eighty nine
point seven percent during the twenty twenty three to twenty
four school year, according to Florida's Department of Education. Now,
the grad rate represented an increase of one point seven
percent over the prior year, with gains across all demographics,
and it's among the highest in the nation now. In

(00:22):
announcing the news, Governor Decantis had this to say, said,
Florida leads the nation in education because we put education
over indoctrination, empower parents, and have made school choice universal.
This record graduation rate a pri metric of our success
in addition to our number one in the nation rating,
and Florida Education Commissioner Manny Diaz Junior added, Florida is

(00:44):
number one for education because of our commitment to providing
a quality education that fits the needs of each student,
and our climbing graduation rate is proof positive that our
approach is working now. The number one rating Governor de
Santis and Commissioner Das Junior referred to as the annual
US News and World Report ranking, which most recently showed
Florida as ranking best in the nation for pre K

(01:06):
through college education. So as we kind of walked through
time and what's happened with Florida's grad rates, we'll start
at the bottom. Still remarkable every time I take a
look at this, how itever could have been so low?
But in the four to five school year, Florida's graduation
rate bottomed out at fifty eight point eight percent. We
have made steady progress since then. The first year we

(01:28):
climbed above seventy five percent for a high school graduation
rate was in twenty thirteen. By the time that Governor
DeSantis took office, Florida's graduation rate was at eighty six percent,
and of course mentioned that now we're at eighty nine
point seven. Now, the one caveat that comes into this
conversation we talked about highest non pandemic graduation rate. The

(01:51):
absolute peak here was the twenty twenty twenty one school
year when the graduate was ninety point one percent, But
that was due in lar part to the suspension of
Florida's graduation test requirement. So that's why there's the distinction.
And one of the things that is cool based upon
the current trajectory, we see another increase this year. Really

(02:14):
good chance we could take out even the COVID year
for a all time high graduation rate regardless