Despite a dismal job market for most recent graduates, Americans can at least take pride in the fact that the U.S. high school graduation rate has climbed over the years and is set to reach record-breaking levels. According to a new report, for the first time the nation is on pace to reach a 90 percent-graduation rate by 2020.
The report to be released by America’s Promise Alliance, an advocacy group founded by Colin and Alma Powell, indicates that the gains in graduation rates are largely attributed to improvement in minority students in large, Southern states. Between 2006 and 2010, African-American students saw a 6.9 percent increase in graduation rates, and Hispanic students had a 10.4 percent increase.
According to the Huffington Post, in 2002 half of African-American high school students were unlikely to graduate–today that number is down to 25 percent.