A recent report from the U.S. Department of Education found that the national graduation rate to be around 74 percent. But does this mean that nearly a quarter of high school students drop out? Not necessarily.

First of all, most graduation rates, like the one calculated by the department, are “on-time” graduation rates. These rates only count those students who graduate high school within the traditional four years after entering the 9^th grade. So students who take longer than four years to graduate (late graduates) are counted as non-graduates in most graduation rates.

According to the Center’s Better late than never report, counting late graduates would increase the graduation rate another 5 percentage points, raising it to nearly 80 percent. Keep in mind, these late graduates completed the same requirements as their classmates who graduated on time. They just needed a little extra time to do so.

It should also be noted that students who earn less than a standard diploma—such as those students who earn a certificate of completion /attendance —are typically not counted as graduates as well. These students would add nearly 8 percentage points to the graduate rate. However, unlike late graduate, these students have not completed the same requirements as other high school graduates, which is why they are typically not included in most high school graduation rates. Furthermore, these students are not nearly as successful after high school as their classmates who earned a standard high school diploma.

Of course, no matter if the graduation rate is 74 or 80 percent, it is still far too low, especially for minority and low-income students. International assessments show that the U.S. students perform fairly well in the early grades but fall behind their international peers as they move into high school.  This shows many of the reforms aimed at elementary schools have made a difference but now it’s time to focus on high schools as well.

High schools need to ensure all students leave high school with the knowledge and skills they need to be successful in college or the workforce. To do so they must predict which students may not graduate, intervene with programs to ensure students stay on track for graduation, organize schools in such a way to prevent them from dropping out, and recover those students who do fall off track. If high schools put such systems into place more students will leave high school with the skills they need for life. –Jim Hull

For more information, check out the Center’s guide to calculating graduation rates and dropout prevention programs.