The Minnesota Department of Education last month reported graduation rates dipped in 2023, renewing concerns around the state’s public schools. But a closer look at the data finds graduation rates are actually climbing. Here’s what happened.

The Minnesota Department of Education in March reported four-year graduation rates were down in 2023, renewing concerns about the direction of the state’s public schools and the lingering effects of the pandemic.

But a deeper look at the data finds the state’s published results were flawed and that graduation rates are actually rising.

APM Research Lab, a sister organization of MPR News with expertise in collecting and analyzing public data, examined the results. It found after incorporating misreported numbers from several school systems, including Minneapolis and St. Paul, two of the state’s largest districts, the state graduation rate rose slightly, from 83.6 in 2022 to 83.8 percent.

It’s a slight but important change at a time when school performance data is scrutinized intensely. From test scores to graduation rates, those numbers have an outsized influence on policy decisions and on public perceptions of school success and failure.