Florida's high school graduation rate has reached a record high of 89.7% for the 2023-2024 academic year, as announced by Governor Ron DeSantis. This marks an increase of 1.7% compared to the previous year.
Patricia Levesque, Executive Director of the Foundation for Florida’s Future, commented on this achievement: “This is great news both for our students and the educators who are working hard to prepare them for success beyond high school."
Levesque highlighted Florida's approach in contrast to other states, stating, “While states like Massachusetts are eliminating graduation exit exams to artificially increase their graduation rates, Florida has high expectations, and our students rise to the levels we set for them.”
She further emphasized that more students have met Florida’s rigorous graduation requirements this year. "In the 2023-2024 school year, thousands more students met Florida’s graduation requirements, including passing Algebra I and 10th grade English Language Arts end-of-course assessments, than the school year prior," she noted.
Levesque concluded with a call to maintain these standards: “If we maintain our commitment to high expectations, Florida’s high school diploma will continue to signal competence to employers and postsecondary institutions both within our state and nationally.”