Florida’s high school graduation rate hit a record high last year, with nearly 90% of the class of 2024 earning a diploma, the Florida Department of Education announced late Thursday, though the statistic comes with an asterisk.
The state’s graduation rate of 89.7% was its best ever — not counting the two COVID-19 pandemic years when Florida dropped testing requirements that made it easier for more students to earn diplomas. For that reason, the classes of 2020 and 2021 had higher graduation rate’s than last year’s.
But if those inflated rates, at 90% and 90.1%, are ignored, the class of 2024 posted the best graduation rate ever, topping the 86.9% from the class of 2019, state officials said.
The graduation rate announced Thursday also showed a continued an upward trend seen since the state again required students to pass language arts and math tests to earn diplomas. In 2024, the state graduated 89.7% of seniors, representing a 1.7% increase compared to 2022-23, according to the state’s report.
Lake County’s public school graduate rate increased about two percentage points to 91.7% and Osceola County’s increased four percentage points to 88.8%.
In Orange and Seminole counties, the public schools maintained their graduation rates at 89.3% and 91.8% respectively. The rates are calculated using the number of students who start ninth grade and then the percentage who graduate four years later.
Orange County Public Schools said its graduation rate for its 22 traditional high schools — a calculation that excludes alternative and charter schools included in its countywide figure — was 96%.
“I am incredibly proud of our graduates,” Superintendent Maria Vazquez said in a statement. “These scores are a testament to the hard work and collaboration of our teachers, students, administrators and families. The continued increase validates the district’s vision of leading students to success.”
Osceola Superintendent Mark Shanoff said in a statement his county’s improved rate was “a testament to the hardworking members of the SDOC Class of 2024.”
Gov. Ron DeSantis, speaking at a Christian school in Jacksonville on Friday, said the record rate showed Florida’s approach to K-12 education — including money to boost starting teacher pay and provide scholarships to private school if parents want — was working.
“Proof’s in the pudding, right?” he said.
In the last twenty years, the state’s graduation rates have seen a steady increase. In 2003-04, Florida only graduated 59.2% of its high school seniors, about 30 percentage points lower than 2023-24.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.