The United States ranks 10th among 42 countries on its high school graduation rate, according to a report released last week by the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
“Education at a Glance 2004,” is available online from OECD.
The 456-page annual report notes that 87 percent of U.S. 25- to 34-year-olds have graduated from high school, ranking the United States behind such countries as South Korea, Norway, Japan, and the Czech Republic.
The report points out that the United States has maintained a relatively high graduation rate for years, but recently other countries have significantly improved their graduation rates. South Korea, for instance, has improved its ranking from 24th to first in that category. It has a 95 percent high school graduation rate for 25- to 34-year-olds.
However, the United States ranks first of the 31 nations studied in per-pupil spending for elementary, secondary, and postsecondary education, at $10,871, followed by Denmark and Norway, which spend $9,075 and $9,004, respectively.