INDIANAPOLIS — Indianapolis Public Schools reported significant gains in its graduation rate for the 2016-17 school year with the percentage of students graduating topping the 80 percent mark for the first time in several years.
Data released by the Indiana Department of Education shows 82.9 percent of IPS students graduated in the 2016-17 school year; this represents nearly a six percentage point increase over the previous year and the largest increase in the last seven years. Additionally, the District has seen steady increases for more than a decade with some of the biggest gains in the last five years; improving nearly 15 percent overall since the 2012-13 school year from 68 percent.
Other highlights include:
• A six percent increase in the graduation rate for African American students pushing the overall rate to 84 percent. That’s higher than the state average of 78 percent.
• A six percent increase in the graduation rate for Special Education students from 2016. That number has increased nearly 10 percent since 2013.