Nearly Half of Florida's Districts Now Graduate 90% — Up From Less Than 10% Eight Years Ago

Fri, 15 May 2026 12:00:00 GMT

In 2016, just six of Florida's 68 county districts had graduation rates at or above 90 percent. By 2024, that number had nearly quintupled to 29, meaning 42.6 percent of districts now meet a threshold that was once rare.

The shift is not confined to the top. Across the state, 63 of 68 districts improved their graduation rates over the eight-year span. The median district gained 8.4 percentage points. Only five districts declined.

The floor rose with the ceiling

The disappearance of low-performing districts is as significant as the proliferation of high-performing ones. In 2016, six districts had graduation rates below 70 percent. By 2018 that number had dropped to two, and by 2020 it reached zero, where it has remained through 2024.

The number of districts below 80 percent tells a similar story: 33 in 2016, down to just 5 in 2024. The state has essentially compressed its distribution from a wide spread into a tighter, higher-performing band.

The COVID waiver years of 2020 and 2021 temporarily inflated the numbers at the top. In 2020, 37 districts crossed the 90 percent mark when assessment requirements were waived. That artificial peak dropped back to 18 in 2022 when testing returned. But the recovery since has been real: 22 districts cleared 90 percent in 2023, and 29 in 2024, approaching the waiver-era high through legitimate means.

The distribution has shifted

Comparing the distribution of district graduation rates in 2016 and 2024 shows the entire bell curve moving to the right. In 2016, the middle of the distribution sat around 80 to 85 percent. In 2024, it sits around 88 to 92 percent. The left tail, which stretched below 65 percent in 2016, has been nearly eliminated.

This matters because it signals broad-based improvement rather than a few star performers pulling up the state average. If only the best districts had improved, the distribution would have become more skewed. Instead, it shifted bodily upward.

Seventeen districts at all-time highs

In 2024, 17 Florida districts posted their highest graduation rate ever. Walton County led at 97.4 percent. Florida Virtual School reached 96.6 percent. Indian River hit 96.2 percent. Pasco reached 95.5, St. Johns 95.0, and Calhoun 94.5.

Large districts made the list as well. Miami-Dade hit 91.8 percent, a record for the nation's fourth-largest school district. Palm Beach reached 92.1 percent. Duval posted 90.9.

On the other end, just one district sits at an all-time low: Leon County, home to the state capital, at 85.1 percent.

What seven districts above 95% means

In 2024, seven districts graduated 95 percent or more of their students. In 2016, just two districts had managed that. A 95 percent graduation rate means that for every 20 students who enter ninth grade as part of a cohort, 19 will earn a diploma within four years. It represents near-universal graduation.

The expansion of this elite tier, from a couple of outliers to seven districts, suggests that near-complete graduation is becoming achievable rather than aspirational for a meaningful share of Florida communities.

Detailed code that reproduces the analysis and figures in this article is available exclusively to EdTribune subscribers.

Same Size, Different Worlds: Putnam and Walton Counties Have a 33-Point Absenteeism Gap

Thu, 14 May 2026 12:00:00 GMT

Putnam County and Walton County are both rural Florida districts with enrollment in the 10,000-to-13,000 range. Both sit outside major metro areas. Both have schools named after local landmarks and Friday night football games that draw the whole community.

Their chronic absenteeism rates are far apart. Putnam's is 57.5%. Walton's is 24.3%. The gap between them, 33.2 percentage points, is wider than the entire pre-COVID chronic rate for the state of Florida.

Part of the Florida Chronic Absenteeism series.

A gap that doubled

In 2018-19, the gap was already substantial: 18.5 points, with Putnam at 39.2% and Walton at 20.7%. The pandemic blew it wide open. Putnam's rate surged to 53.5% in 2020-21 and kept climbing to 57.5% in 2023-24. Walton's rose more modestly, hitting 27.2% in 2021-22 before pulling back to 24.3%.

The result is a gap that has nearly doubled from 18.5 to 33.2 points. In Putnam, more than half the student body is chronically absent. In Walton, three-quarters of students attend school regularly. Both counties are governed by the same state laws, receive funding through the same FEFP formula, and answer to the same Department of Education.

The obvious explanation is poverty. Putnam County, located in inland North Central Florida, has a poverty rate roughly double the state average. Walton County, anchored by the coastal tourism economy of Destin and 30A, has a more affluent economic base. But poverty alone does not produce a 33-point gap, particularly when both districts had chronic rates in the 20-39% range five years ago. The divergence since COVID suggests that the pandemic hit Putnam's already-fragile support systems in ways that Walton's more robust community infrastructure withstood.

The other pair: Lake and Collier

A similar story plays out in larger districts. Lake County (51,345 students, 37.7% chronic) and Collier County (51,833 students, 17.4% chronic) have nearly identical enrollment but a 20.3 percentage-point gap in chronic absenteeism.

The gap was 11.3 points in 2018. By 2024 it had nearly doubled. Collier peaked at 24.3% during the COVID surge and recovered to 17.4% — within striking distance of its pre-pandemic 11.9%. Lake peaked at 36.8% and has stayed there, even worsening slightly to 37.7%. Two districts the same size, on opposite attendance trajectories.

Widening, not narrowing

Both paired comparisons show the same pattern: gaps that were already significant before COVID have roughly doubled since. The pandemic did not create Florida's attendance disparities, but it widened them sharply.

The widening raises hard questions about the state's approach to attendance. Florida's school accountability system primarily tracks test scores and school grades. A district like Walton, where students mostly show up, and a district like Putnam, where most do not, receive the same general framework for improvement: attendance letters, truancy referrals, counseling services. That framework was built for a world of modest variation between districts, not for 33-point gaps between neighbors.

What makes Collier and Walton different from Lake and Putnam? The data alone cannot answer that question. Florida's chronic absenteeism reporting includes no demographic subgroups, no attendance band detail, and no breakdown by school type. The patterns suggest that whatever is working in the lower-absence districts, whether community engagement models, family support infrastructure, school culture, or simply a wealthier tax base, is not transferring to the districts where it is most needed.

Putnam County, Walton County, Lake County, and Collier County did not respond to requests for comment.