2015 Graduation rates jump up dramatically

The Florida Department of Education released its graduation rates for the 2014-15 school year. They showed a dramatic improvement for Escambia County in the rate for African American students -improving by 12 percentage points.

Whites

2014 74.60%

2015 78.70%

Hispanic

2014 73.50%

2015 76.50%

Black

2014 49.80%

2015 61.80%

Two or more races

2014 73.00%

2015 73.70%

Asian

2014 83.50%

2015 85.60%

American Indian

2014  67.70%

2015  87.10%

The overall graduation rate improved by 6.6 percent. The black student graduation rate is within 6.1 percent of the state rate for black student – which is 67.9 percent.

The jump in graduation rates for the black students is unprecedented in Escambia County history. Prior to 2015, the largest jump in any one year was 4.9 percent. The rate has always hovered around 50 percent – plus or minus a few points.