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Graduation, proficiency rates rise in North Carolina
North Carolina's 2025 26 graduation rate reached 88.8%, according to new state data. Proficiency scores on state assessments also hit three year highs.
By Alan Wooten · 2026-09-07T01:31:33.681Z
The Center Square – Four year cohort graduation of North Carolina’s public school students for 2025 26 is 88.8%, up from the previous year’s record 87.8%.
Seeking to reach a “Best in Nation Measure” as identified in the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction’s strategic plan, the new figure for the Old North State trails previous year’s rates for at least nine of 16 states in the U.S. Census Bureau defined South.
“These academic achievement results are a testament to the incredible work happening across North Carolina’s public schools,” first term Democratic Superintendent Mo Green said. “While I am pleased to see these results trending positively, including our highest graduation rate ever, I look forward to continued progress as we aim to achieve educational excellence for all North Carolina public school students and become the best public education system in the nation.”
North Carolina is among the first, if not the first, to announce 2025 26 rates. In 2024 25, for the South, this new figure trails Kentucky 93.6% , West Virginia 92.8% , Virginia 92.7% , Tennessee 92.3% , Florida 92.2% , Alabama 91.6% , Delaware 91.4% , Mississippi 90.8% and Arkansas 90.1% .
The U.S. Census Bureau breaks the South into Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, Tennessee in the East South Central; Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia in the South Atlantic; and Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas in the West South Central.
End of grade and end of course assessments are the highest in three years, hitting 59.2% of students being proficient. Grade level proficiency on the two exams was the highest in three years for 14 of 15 reading and math tests.
Dr. Michael Maher, chief accountability officer for the Department of Public Instruction, said in part, “It is promising to see this continued improvement in student achievement in the 2025 26 accountability results. From graduation rates to EOG and EOC scores and school performance grades, students and educators across North Carolina should be proud of this progress. At the same time, these results alone do not capture the full breadth of the important work happening in our public schools. The work of the Accountability Task Force gives us an opportunity to consider additional measures that, alongside academic achievement, can provide a more complete picture of student progress and how well schools are preparing students for what comes next.”
High School Graduation Rate 2025 26.
This story originally appeared on thecentersquare.com https://www.thecentersquare.com/north carolina/article 7bc32234 71da 4fb6 9819 540e5c8872e4.html .