Illinois schools are performing better than 30 other states when it comes to high school students receiving a diploma. A report from the U.S. Department of Education says Illinois ranks 20th in the country in its high school graduation rate at 86 percent. That’s four percentage points higher than the national average at 82 percent.
While the national average is the highest on record since the U.S. Department of Education started using a new, uniform measure in 2010, nearly one in five high school students still are not receiving a diploma.
Illinois’ neighbor, Iowa, recorded the best high school graduation rate at 90.5 percent.