New data from the U.S. Department of Education show that 86% of Illinois students graduate from high school. That's the 20th-highest graduation rate in the country.
The department says the 82.3% national graduation rate for the 2013-14 school year was the highest recorded since it started using a new, uniform measure in 2010.
That still leaves nearly 1 in 5 students leaving high school without a diploma. Education Secretary Arne Duncan praised the improvement but said too many students still drop out.
90.1% of white students, 77.2% of black students, and 81.3% of Hispanic students graduate.
