US states with the highest high school graduation rates, ranked

littleny/Getty Images Kentucky has the highest high school graduation rate in the US at 93.60%.

Students' chances of tossing their graduation caps on time can vary widely by the US state where they attend high school .

In Alaska, the rate of students who graduate from high school in four years is 79.87%, compared to 93.60% in Kentucky, the highest in the country.

While graduation rates are one way to monitor academic achievement and are used by local and state governments to track educational progress, they are complex metrics to define and measure. Diploma requirements vary from state to state, and students in different states face different course and testing requirements to earn it.

Still, the diploma matters.

Across the nation, higher levels of education are almost always associated with higher earnings , and high school degrees are no different.…