An NPR report shows Missouri's high school graduation rate increased five percentage points between 2011 and 2013, good enough to rank 10th in the country. But that number may not tell the whole story.
The Truth About America's Graduation Rate looks at factors affecting the graduation rate around the country, and why the national rate of 81 percent — an all time high — may not be as good as it seems.
Missouri's graduation rate in 2013 was 86 percent. Meanwhile, Illinois' rate was 83 percent in 2013 and ranked 23rd nationally.
NPR found that Missouri does not require students take Algebra II in order to graduate, nor does it have a college and career ready diploma.
Correction: a previous version of this article listed an incorrect rate for Illinois. We regret the error.
