Graduation, Dropout Rates Climb

More students are graduating from Kentucky high schools, but more students are also dropping out. New numbers out today show Kentucky’s high school graduation rate climbed from 83.7% in 2007 to around 84.5% last year.But Education Department spokesperson Lisa Gross says the dropout rate also increased.“Even though it only went up very slightly, from three-point-one-seven percent to three-point-three percent, it’s still an increase," says Gross. "That means that more kids are dropping out for whatever reason and we in schools are not meeting their needs, and that’s something that needs to be addressed.”Both rates can increase in the same year because graduation rates measure only seniors, and dropout rates measure all grades in high school.Graduation rates are tied into federal No Child Left Behind funding.