Posted by Alma J. Powell on June 8, 2015.

American tradition: high school graduation. And today we have more cause to celebrate than ever before.

We have reached an 81.4 percent national on-time high school graduation rate, the highest in the nation’s history. And we are on track to raise that number to 90 percent by 2020.

What’s more, a record 70.7 percent of African-American students are now receiving their high school diploma on time, and with it a shot at their own American dream. Indeed, we have made such progress.

However, the data in the annual “Building a Grad Nation” report, released last month, also tell another story, one that is more cause for alarm than celebration. Students of color, students from low-income families and students with disabilities are still far less likely than their peers to graduate from high school.

Read the full article on The Root.