High School Graduation in United States
United States
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United States Value:
86.6%
Percentage of high school students graduating with a regular high school diploma within four years of starting ninth grade
High School Graduation in depth:
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About High School Graduation
US Value: 86.6%
Top State(s): West Virginia: 91.2%
Bottom State(s): Arizona: 77.3%
Definition: Percentage of high school students graduating with a regular high school diploma within four years of starting ninth grade
Data Source and Years(s): U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2021-2022 School Year
Suggested Citation: America's Health Rankings analysis of U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, United Health Foundation, AmericasHealthRankings.org, accessed 2024.
The connection between education and health is well documented. Higher educational attainment is associated with higher earnings, increased health literacy and better self-reported health. Individuals with lower educational attainment are at a greater risk of adverse health outcomes such as cardiovascular disease and premature death. Increased time in school is also connected to higher civic engagement in adulthood.
The prevalence of high school graduation is higher among:
- Asian and non-Hispanic white students compared with American Indian/Alaska Native and non-Hispanic Black students.
- Students who did not give birth during high school compared with students who did.
- Students without a disability compared with students who have a disability.
- Students who are proficient in English compared with students with limited English proficiency.
Keeping children and adolescents in school through high school graduation and beyond is key to increasing equitable health outcomes. Several programs have been successful in improving high school graduation rates by targeting high-risk populations. Strategies for increasing graduation rates — and ultimately, health equity — include:
- Vocational training and alternative schooling.
- Social-emotional skills training.
- College-oriented programming, mentoring and counseling.
- Attendance monitoring and case management.
- Community service opportunities.
The Institute of Education Sciences lists several recommendations for preventing dropout and improving graduation rates, including providing intensive, individualized support to students who have fallen off track and engaging students by offering curricula and programs that connect schoolwork with college and career success.
Interventions to increase high school graduation rates should target social, economic and health-related barriers to graduation. These include absenteeism, chronic illness, poverty, hunger, developmental delay due to chronic stress, homelessness and teen pregnancy. The expansion of school-based health centers can help address some of these barriers.
Increasing the proportion of students who graduate in four years with a regular diploma is a Healthy People 2030 adolescent health objective.
American Public Health Association. “The Dropout Crisis: A Public Health Problem and the Role of School-Based Health Care.” Washington, D.C.: APHA Center for School, Health and Education, February 2018. https://apha.org/-/media/Files/PDF/SBHC/Dropout_Crisis.ashx.
Arenson, Michael, Philip J. Hudson, NaeHyung Lee, and Betty Lai. “The Evidence on School-Based Health Centers: A Review.” Global Pediatric Health 6 (January 2019): 2333794X1982874. https://doi.org/10.1177/2333794X19828745.
Flanagan, Constance, Peter Levine, and Richard Settersten. “Civic Engagement and the Changing Transition to Adulthood.” CIRCLE, Tufts University, February 27, 2009. https://circle.tufts.edu/sites/default/files/2020-02/civic_engagement_changing_transition_adulthood.pdf.
Hahn, Robert A., John A. Knopf, Sandra Jo Wilson, Benedict I. Truman, Bobby Milstein, Robert L. Johnson, Jonathan E. Fielding, et al. “Programs to Increase High School Completion: A Community Guide Systematic Health Equity Review.” American Journal of Preventive Medicine 48, no. 5 (March 26, 2015): 599–608. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2014.12.005.
Hummer, Robert A., and Elaine M. Hernandez. “The Effect of Educational Attainment on Adult Mortality in the United States.” Population Bulletin 68, no. 1 (June 2013): 1–16. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25995521/.
Kutner, Mark, Elizabeth Greenberg, Ying Jin, and Christine Paulsen. “The Health Literacy of America’s Adults: Results From the 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy.” Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, September 2006. https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2006/2006483_1.pdf.
Magnani, Jared W., Hongyan Ning, John T. Wilkins, Donald M. Lloyd-Jones, and Norrina B. Allen. “Educational Attainment and Lifetime Risk of Cardiovascular Disease.” JAMA Cardiology 9, no. 1 (January 1, 2024): 45–54. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamacardio.2023.3990.
Zajacova, Anna, and Elizabeth M. Lawrence. “The Relationship between Education and Health: Reducing Disparities through a Contextual Approach.” Annual Review of Public Health 39 (April 1, 2018): 273–89. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-publhealth-031816-044628.
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