High school graduation rate on rise

The number of Massachusetts high school students who graduated within four years rose again last year, the state said yesterday. The 2010-11 school year also saw the state’s dropout rate dip to 2.7 percent, its lowest level in two decades. Of more than 74,300 students in the state’s class of 2011, 83.4 percent graduated in four years - an increase of 1.3 percent from the previous year, according to the report. All subgroups of students, except those with limited English proficiency showed an improvement in graduation rates over the past year.