What is the High School Graduation Rate in My District?

Understand recent trends in high school graduation rates using cohort data from NCES

Educational attainment is critical for understanding the opportunities afforded to young people in a changing world. As the economy evolves, graduation from high school still serves as a critical credential. Patterns in graduation rates across the country offer a view into possible future trends in everything from politics to labor market outcomes.

High school graduation rate data, sourced from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) at the United States Department of Education, is now available in PolicyMap. Data is presented for the years 2017-2019 at the school district level as the “adjusted four-year cohort graduation rate.”

The adjusted four-year cohort graduation rate is the number of students who graduate in four years with a regular high school diploma, divided by the number of students who form the adjusted cohort for the graduating class. The rates are “adjusted” by means for any students who transfer into a cohort or exit, for example by transfer or death. Cohort graduation rates are reported by each school district as ranges that may vary in order to protect student privacy. In order to facilitate comparison across districts without having to know each cohort size, PolicyMap presents these data as deciles.

The interactive map below shows the the high school graduation rate in District of Columbia Public Schools and the surrounding school districts.

Looking for more education data? Use PolicyMap to explore grade-schoolers’ internet and computer access, high-speed broadband access, and more.