Indiana's 2025 graduation rate hits record high but racial, economic gaps remain

Indiana’s high school graduation rate reached a record high of nearly 92% with the Class of 2025, continuing a three-year trend of improvement following the pandemic. The rate of students who earned a diploma without needing a waiver — meaning they met all exam or career readiness standards — also climbed to a record 90%.

“Today's record-high graduation rate is a testament to the hard work of Indiana's students, families, and educators," Gov. Mike Braun said in a statement. "This strong improvement in our state's graduation rate shows that when we focus on academic excellence and establish clear, personalized pathways, our students thrive.” 

And despite progress across all demographics, disparities continue to persist among student groups.

Graduation rates for Black and Hispanic students, at 86.9% and 89.8% respectively in 2025, remain below the overall state average of 91.8%. While both groups saw gains from last year, they still lag behind White students, whose graduation rate rose to 93.3%, an increase of 1.47 percentage points.
 

Students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds also showed improvement. Among students receiving free or reduced-price meals, the graduation rate rose by 1.8 percentage points to 93.3%. These students graduated at a slightly lower rate than their peers who pay for meals, who graduated at a 94% rate.

Other gains

Other subgroups also experienced growth in graduation rates compared to 2024:

• English learners: Increased from 89.4% to 92.3% in 2025 — an increase of 2.9 percentage points.
• Students in special education: Increased from 85.3% to 88% in 2025 — a gain of 2.75 percentage points.
• The non-waiver graduation rate reached a record in 2025, rising to 90.3% from 87.5% in 2024. This rate reflects students meeting postsecondary-readiness requirements without needing exceptions.

Students who earned a diploma with a waiver did not complete all academic or postsecondary-readiness requirements by the conclusion of their senior year but met other criteria for graduation. 

Public and non-public diploma rates

Non-public schools graduated students at an overall rate of 93%, higher than the public school rate of 91.7%.

The graduation rate for charter schools is 78.7%, according to a WFYI analysis. That does not include more than 20 charter high schools where adults, who dropped out of school or have a GED, can earn a Core 40 diploma. The average graduation rate of these schools for adult learners is 16.4%.

Charter schools are public schools that are granted a contract to operate by one of several authorizers in Indiana. A charter school is directly overseen by a board that is not elected by voters.

The record-high state graduation rate comes as state officials implement new diploma standards. New high school diploma and graduation requirements designed to emphasize work-based learning and apprenticeships will take effect with Indiana’s Class of 2029.

"As we continue to scale the new Indiana diploma and readiness seals statewide, we will not only strengthen the value of high school and help more students graduate, we will ensure that they are prepared to succeed in whatever path they choose for their future," Secretary of Education Katie Jenner said in a statement.
 

Eric Weddle is WFYI's education editor. Contact Eric at eweddle@wfyi.org or follow him on X at @ericweddle