Duval County Public Schools announced a historic high graduation rate Tuesday.
Duval County has a 76.6 percent graduation rate, up 2.6 percentage points from the prior year. Excluding charter schools, Duval’s graduation rate is 86.5 percent.
The district increased its percent of graduates by 8.9 points over the last three years. Last year, 464 more students graduated than the year before.
When compared to six similar districts of size and demographics, Duval ranks number one in the African-American graduation rate, up from fifth place three years ago.
“I think what has happened differently over the past three years goes back to systems of prevention and systems of identifying those that are likely not to graduate in four years,” Vitti said.
He says those students are typically African-American or receive free or reduced lunch.
Overall, Duval’s graduation rate is tied for fourth out of the seven largest Florida districts.
Florida’s statewide graduation rate is 77.8 percent, up 1.7 percentage points from the prior year.
