BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Alabama’s high school graduation rates continue to rebound from the pandemic-era slump, with nearly 92% of the class of 2024 graduating on time.
Statewide or by student groups, many are seeing their best outcomes in years.
For example, Alabama’s dropout rate has fallen to its lowest point since the state began following federal guidelines for how to calculate graduation rates, with especially strong improvements among Hispanic students and those learning English.
Some groups -including students in poverty, those with disabilities, and students experiencing homelessness – are graduating at their highest rates ever.
The gap between male and female students continues to narrow, and while racial disparities persist, several groups are approaching or exceeding pre-pandemic graduation levels.
“We’re generally seeing improvement in multiple areas across the board,” State Superintendent Eric Mackey told Alabama Daily News.
After digging into the graduation data by region, school size and student group, Mackey said he feels better about the numbers than he did at first glance.
“Overall, I feel really good about it,” he said.
He added that where rates still aren’t where they should be, the department has a good handle on what’s behind it and how to move forward. At the same time, Mackey said he wants to make sure that progress doesn’t come at the expense of academic rigor.
“I’m still concerned that we make sure that every student’s diploma means something,” he said. “And so we want to continue to work on that to make sure that when students graduate, they’re ready for the next step in life.”
What it takes to count as a graduate
Graduation requirements are changing for the upcoming class of 2026, but for the classes of 2024 and 2025, requirements include 24 credits via the typical four-by-four curricula: Four credits — each year counts as one credit — in English language arts, math, science and social studies. Students need an additional eight credits – including one P.E., one career preparedness course and a half-year of health.
The class of 2026 – the coming year’s seniors – have two pathways to graduation, Option A and Option B, but they still need 24 credits to graduate.
Option A is the same as it was for 2024 and 2025 – the four-by-four curriculum plus eight additional credits – but Option B is brand new.
Option B is the workforce pathway diploma, a way for students who aren’t heading to college to shift math and science pathways as a junior and substitute career tech courses with real-world application to careers. That means a graduate pursuing Option B needs only two credits in math and two credits in science.
What happened to the Class of 2024?
Of the 52,500 students in the Class of 2024, 48,067 graduated on time, which is defined as graduating four years after entering the ninth grade. The state tracks more than graduates, though. Data is also available for students who remained enrolled, dropped out, withdrew to attend another school somewhere other than public school or completed high school but didn’t meet federal requirements to count as a graduate.
The “completer” status means that the student took required coursework, but some of that coursework was not aligned to college- and career-ready standards, a federal requirement. For example, coursework on the “essentials” pathway, geared toward students with learning challenges, is less complex and somewhat less rigorous than the same course on the regular pathway.
The chart below shows what happened to each statewide cohort of students – students who entered ninth grade four years prior to graduating – since 2017, when Alabama began following federal rules for calculating graduation rates.
Click here if you’re unable to see the chart below.
Graduation gains and dropout declines
Several student groups graduated at higher rates than ever before – though all still trail the overall statewide average of 92%:
- Students in poverty: 88%
- Students with disabilities: 78%
- English learners: 83%
- Migrant students: 87%
- Homeless students: 86%
Historically, these groups have struggled the most with graduation. The upward trend suggests that, with the right support, meaningful progress is possible.
The statewide dropout rate dipped to just under 4% – down from nearly 5% last year. Several student groups have reached their lowest levels since 2017:
- Economically disadvantaged: 4%
- Female students: 3%
- Male students: 5%
- Hispanic/Latino students: 4% (down from 8% in 2023 and 9% in 2022)
- Homeless students: 5%
- Students with disabilities: 3%
- Students with limited English proficiency: 9% (down from 18% in 2023)
- White students: 3%
However, dropout rates among foster students rose to their highest level, at 17%, underscoring the continued challenges this group faces.
The chart below shows the total number of students in each cohort – the number of students who started ninth grade four years prior to graduating – graduates and drop outs in each federally-required student group since 2017. Click here if you are unable to see the chart.
Gender gap narrows
Male students still lag behind females in graduation rates, but the gap is shrinking as male performance steadily improves.
Click here if you are unable to see the chart below.
Some racial groups still recovering from the pandemic
Graduation rates by race show steady improvement overall, though some groups haven’t yet returned to pre-pandemic highs.
Click here if you’re unable to see the chart below.
See your local graduation rates
Use the tables below to look up graduation rates for every Alabama school district and high school.
District-level rates: Click here if you’re unable to see the table.
School-level rates: Click here if you’re unable to see the table.