AUGUSTA, Maine - State education officials say Maine's high school graduation rate has hit an all-time high. That's according to new state and federal data, released by the Maine Department of Education.
It shows that 86.48 percent of students who entered high school in 2010 graduated in 2014, slightly higher than the graduation rate in 2013 of 86.36 percent.
Tom Desjardin is Maine's education commissioner. "The more that graduate the better," he says. "There's no downside to that. But we also need to keep our eyes focused on the value of the diploma - that students reach a certain level of learning before they graduate."
Desjardin says he's especially encouraged to see the rates jump for economically disadvantaged teens, high schoolers with disabilities and African American students.
The number of Hispanic students graduating on time, though, continued to decline - from more than 79 percent three years ago to just over 71 percent last year.
"We need to take a good look and examine what that is," Desjardin says. "But, on the other hand, overall, the limited English proficiency graduation rate in Maine is the sixth highest in the nation."