Arizona has one of the lowest high school graduation rates and the highest drop out rate in the country. Those are some of the facts in a report released today by the U.S. Department of Education.  KJZZ’s Al Macias reports the graduation numbers are actually an improvement.

The numbers are for the 2009-2010 school year. The study measures the percentage of ninth graders who graduate within four years. It shows that the graduation rate for high school students across the United States was just over 78 percent. In Arizona, that rate was less than 75 percent. Despite the lower number, the results mark the fourth year in a row Arizona’s graduation rate has improved.

The dropout rate continues to be a problem though for Arizona. It had the highest dropout rate in the country for that same time period at 7.8 percent. Male students had a higher rate. Among ethnic groups, Native Americans had the highest drop out rate at about 14.5 percent.

Read the report (PDF).