Minnesota posted a record high graduation rate of 84.2% in 2024, according to data being released Wednesday by the state Department of Education (MDE).

Achievement gaps between white students and students of color also narrowed nearly across the board, an impressive feat given that 2024 graduates entered high school at the height of the pandemic.

"The students of the Class of 2024 worked hard and overcame challenges to achieve this milestone," Education Commissioner Willie Jett said in a statement. "I am thrilled to see the success of many of our students — especially those most at risk."

In addition to the 59,720 students who graduated in four years, Minnesota also saw another 3,874 students earn diplomas who first entered high school five, six or seven years ago — and that is welcome news to Katie Pekel, executive director of educational leadership at the University of Minnesota.

"Graduation rates are an important measure of the effectiveness of an educational system," Pekel said Tuesday. "They serve somewhat like the final report card — or culmination —of the impact that system has had on a cohort of students."

The comments were echoed Tuesday by Michael Diedrich, a policy analyst at MDE, who noted that while test scores are a "day in time," graduation rates represent a "confluence of the academic side of things with that student connection to school."

Minneapolis and St. Paul school districts both posted gains in their graduation rates.

Jett told reporters the state still has work to do when it comes to lifting the performance of some special-education students and that MDE also has begun to work with outside groups to better understand the barriers some students face in finishing high school.

He also bemoaned the prospect of the Trump administration dismantling the U.S. Department of Education and the potential rollbacks in funds that help students with disabilities and those in poverty.

"Our most vulnerable students are on the right track," he said. "So now is not the time to interrupt all of the important work being done to close achievement gaps."

Well-rounded success

According to state data, white students graduated at an 89.3% rate, a 0.6 percentage-point improvement from 2023.

The gains for other groups ranged from about 1.5 percentage points for American Indian students to about 2.5 percentage points for Asian and Hispanic or Latino students. Students of two or more races were the only group to show a decline.

The graduation rate for English language learners rose to 67.2%, up 3.9 percentage points.

St. Paul Public Schools reversed three consecutive years of declines with 77% of students graduating in four years in 2024. Factors cited in the turnaround include:

  • Enhanced academic-support coursework for ninth graders at every district high school.
  • Expanded access to internships, work-based experiences and other opportunities that connect classroom learning with real-world applications.
  • Daily advisory periods aimed at increasing student engagement and social-emotional learning.
  • Various credit recovery options.

"To see the district's graduation rate return to 2019 levels, and to increase significantly for many student groups, is a testament to the high-quality education that students and families should expect from St. Paul Public Schools," John Thein, the district's interim superintendent, said in a statement.

Statewide, the 2020 graduating class was the last to set a record mark — when nearly 84% graduated.

The state Department of Education plans to post the 2024 graduation rates data on its Minnesota Report Card webpage about 8 a.m. Wednesday.