Minnesota Graduation Rates Hit Record High, Duluth Schools Show Gains

Duluth's public school system posted a four-year graduation rate of 80.4 percent for the class of 2025, nearly five points below the statewide record of 84.9 percent, according to data released by the Minnesota Department of Education on April 3. That gap is more than a statistical footnote in St. Louis County: in a regional economy rebuilding around healthcare, skilled trades, and logistics rather than iron ore, a diploma increasingly determines whether a graduate enrolls at the University of Minnesota Duluth or Lake Superior College, or enters the workforce without the credential that opens those doors.

Minnesota's overall figure is the highest four-year cohort graduation rate in state history, the second consecutive year the state has set a new record. The class of 2025 included 61,935 graduates statewide, with the rate climbing 0.7 percentage points from 84.2 percent in 2024.

"Our students are succeeding and leaving school prepared for career, college, and citizenship at record rates," said MDE Commissioner Willie Jett, who credited greater educational engagement and expanded academic support for the gains.

For ISD 709, reaching 80.4 percent carries additional weight given the district's recent fiscal pressures. Duluth's schools serve roughly 8,700 students across northeastern Minnesota's largest urban district and have absorbed declining enrollment and budget deficits that forced program cuts and staff reductions in recent years. Sustained progress under those conditions reflects genuine institutional momentum, even as the district remains below where statewide trends are heading.

The subgroup data complicates the celebratory headline in ways that matter acutely across St. Louis County's Iron Range. Statewide, American Indian students graduated at 67.6 percent in 2025, a 4.8 percentage-point jump from 62.9 percent in 2024 and one of the largest single-year gains of any demographic group. Black students climbed from 73.9 to 76.4 percent. Students experiencing homelessness graduated at just 54 percent, less than two-thirds the rate of their white peers at 89.9 percent. Migrant students, English learners, and students in foster care saw slight year-over-year declines.

Those disparities land with particular force in communities like Hibbing, Virginia, and Eveleth, where generational disruptions in household income tied to the collapse of taconite production have thinned the economic scaffolding that supports student persistence through high school. MDE education policy specialist Michael Diedrich noted at a Thursday press conference that Greater Minnesota and Twin Cities metro graduation rates showed broadly comparable performance. "In general, what we see is fairly comparable performance," Diedrich said.

Comparable performance at the metro level still means a 4.5-point shortfall locally, and for regional employers trying to fill technical and healthcare positions, Duluth's 80.4 percent is both an improvement to acknowledge and a ceiling to push through.