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Editor’s note: MPR News education reporter Elizabeth Shockman joined Minnesota Now host Nina Moini to break down this story. Use the audio player above to listen to their conversation.

Just over 84 percent of Minnesota’s high school seniors graduated last year — the highest rate the state has ever recorded — with schools making significant gains after losing ground during the COVID-19 pandemic, newly released data shows.

Graduation rates improved for students across nearly every racial and ethnic category in 2024. Asian, Latino, Black and Native American students saw the largest growth, with gains of between 1.6 to nearly 3 percentage points.

English language learners, students from low-income families and students receiving special education services all saw rates increase.

Experts say graduation rates are a critical measure of the success of K-12 public school systems and a more comprehensive indicator than state standardized test scores. Minnesota rates hovered for years around 80 percent. They slipped to 83.3 percent in 2021 during the pandemic but have risen steadily since, reaching 84.2 percent in 2024. 

Last year’s graduates were a “particularly resilient group,” said Michael Diedrich, a policy specialist at the Minnesota Department of Education, which posted the data Wednesday morning.

“Seeing the work that their schools did to reach out to them, to make sure that they do stay connected, I think that helps speak to kind of that fuller range of things that go into that high school graduation experience,” Diedrich added. 

“I am thrilled to see the success of many of our student groups — especially those most at risk– and a closing of the achievement gap as we work to make sure every student, of every background, zip code and ability has access to a world-class education,” said Minnesota Education Commissioner Willie Jett.

Last year’s graduation rate release was 

 by misreported data from some of Minnesota’s largest school districts, including Minneapolis and St. Paul. 

The mistakes together with MDE’s approach to calculating data, meant the state’s reported graduation rates were off by hundreds of students. Ultimately, the state reported a decline in graduation rates when it should have reported a rise. 

In this year’s reporting, Diedrich said there are fewer district mistakes and more confidence in the data.  

“We did have some issues with some local reporting issues last year that did result in an increase in our unknown rate. Those appear to have been resolved,” Diedrich told MPR News.

“This year, we have checked the districts where we saw those issues, and have seen that the unknown rates there have come back down. There's always going to be some cases where there are some local reporting issues. Last year was an unusually high number.”

Wrangling with the feds brings ‘angst’

Jett also used the graduation data release to highlight the uncertainty Minnesota faces due to threats from the Trump administration to withhold federal education funding. 

In the past several months, the Trump administration has moved to dismantle the federal Department of Education, withdrawn 

 meant for low-income students if Minnesota and other states don’t certify they’ve eliminated diversity, equity and inclusion programs in K-12 schools.

“Have we made inroads, or have we tried to have 

 with people at the federal government or the federal level? The answer to that is yes,” Jett told reporters. “We have not technically received responses or answers yet, and that is causing me, as the commissioner of education, some angst.” 

The federal government provides more than 10 percent of the spending to keep public schools running in Minnesota in districts from farm towns to cities. 

“This graduation data shows the progress we are making. Our most vulnerable students are on the right track. Now is not the time to interrupt all the important work being done to close achievement gaps,” Jett said.  

Elizabeth Shockman

Author

Just over 84 percent of Minnesota’s high school seniors graduated last year — the highest rate the state has ever recorded, data released Wednesday shows. State schools made significant gains after losing ground in the COVID-19 pandemic.

Minnesota graduation rates reach historic high after pandemic slide

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