High school seniors across the state of Louisiana have a reason celebrate. Not only is it the last week or two of school for them, but more students are graduating now than ever before. According to a statement released by the Louisiana Board Of Education on Monday morning, graduation rates for the 2014-2015 school year were at an all-time high.

The state's four-year high school graduation rate increased for a fifth consecutive year in 2015, reaching an all-time high of 77.5 percent for the class graduating that year. This represents an increase of 2.9 percentage points over 2014, the second largest annual gain in the past 10 years, and significantly higher than the national gain of only 0.9 percent.

Gains by African-American students outpaced the state as a whole, increasing 3.5 percentage points from 67.9 in 2014 to 71.4 in 2015. Since 2010, the cohort graduation rate of African-American students has increased 12.5 percentage points, from 58.9 percent.

The announcement confirms a continued upward trend in not only graduation rates, but standardized test scores, and advanced placement college credits.

Successes achieved by class of 2015 reflect a number of critical investments and policies in Louisiana over the last decade.

  • The class of 2015 was the first cohort of students to participate in the state's LA-4 pre-kindergarten program.
  • The class of 2015 achieved the highest-performing ACT average composite score of any class since the state required all students to take the ACT, posting an average of 19.4, making Louisiana the most improved state in the nation that assesses all students;
  • More than eight percent of 2015 graduates achieved college credit on an Advanced Placement® assessment, a state record, and greater annual improvement than in any state other than Massachusetts.
  • Proficiency in core high school subjects exceeded that of any previous graduating class on all End-of-Course tests, with 6.5 percent more students achieving Good or Excellent than in the class of 2014.

Congrats to all of our graduating Seniors this year, and good luck on your next journeys in life!

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