The latest reports from the New York State Education Department show that a large gap in graduation rates still exists between white students and black or Hispanic students. On Monday, the department released information showing that 74.9 percent of public-school students graduated within four years, a number that is a slight improvement over the past two years. When that number is split up based on ethnicity, 86.5 percent of white students graduated within four years compared to just 59.2 percent of Hispanic students and 59.7 percent of black students. Some of the state’s larger cities, including New York City, Buffalo, and Yonkers, all saw increases in their graduation rates, while Rochester saw a drop of .4 percent.
