Local school districts broke high school graduation rate records in a banner year for Florida, which saw its highest graduation rate ever.

Statewide, high schools passed 92.2% of students in the 2024-25 school year, up 2.5 percentage points from the previous year.

Hillsborough County schools reached 90.9%, Pinellas County schools reached 93.4% and Pasco reached 96.9% — the highest each county had seen before.

In Hillsborough, the nation’s 7th largest school district, superintendent Van Ayres extended credit to former superintendent Jeff Eakins, the architect of a plan designed to reach a 90% graduation rate by 2020.

For close to a decade, the district has strived to hit that number, Ayres said. Then COVID hit, and the district faced setbacks.

This year Hillsborough’s graduation rate went up 2.9 percentage points from last year.

Ayres said the district has taken an individualized approach to improving graduation rates. They increased free testing opportunities and prep for standardized tests like the SAT and ACT. They created virtual school opportunities for credit recovery and data-based monitoring programs. They also created teams and student advocates to work with schools and families on individual plans.

“If they missed a benchmark, it’s taking the time with that student to get them to that test, to get them to be prepared to pass a benchmark,” Ayres said. “And that’s where we really notice the difference.

“This is a goal we’ve had for our school district for a long time, coming up on 10 years,” Ayres said. “Our schools, our staff members, everyone’s put in so much work to this while it’s gotten more difficult.”

Hillsborough County also saw a 6.6% increase in Black student graduation rates, and a 2.8% increase for Hispanic students. They also noted increases of 4.8% for students with disabilities, 4.3% for students with free and reduced lunches and 3.2% for English Language Learners.

Tampa Bay Technical High School had the highest graduation rate out of the district’s 69 high schools with 99.1%.

Pinellas County schools increased close to 2 percentage points from last year.

One of the district’s 17 high schools, Palm Harbor University, saw a 100% graduation rate.

Pinellas adopted a strategic initiative called “Bridging the Gap” to close achievement gaps in 2015. The district noted a 3% increase for Black students since last year and a 1.9% increase for Hispanic students, who they said now have no gap to the overall graduation rate. English Language Learner students saw a 1.9% increase and students with disabilities saw a 1.1% increase.

“This graduating class is a powerful testament of perseverance, dedication, and community support,” Pinellas Superintendent Kevin Hendrick said in a statement. “Our students are stepping into their next chapter prepared, confident and ready for college, careers, and life.”

Pasco schools increased by 1.4 percentage points from last year.

Pasco superintendent John Legg said he was pleased to see the district’s graduation rate increase by 1 percentage point and remain among the highest in Florida.

Still, he acknowledged that the numbers remain dependent on a variety of factors, and noted the measures change over time.

“There’s more work to be done, and it’s a year-by-year effort,” Legg said.