RICHMOND (AP) - Virginia is seeing improvement in the rate of high school students who graduate on time.
A study released Tuesday by the U.S. Department of Education says about 81 percent of Virginia students who graduated in the spring of 2010 earned their diplomas in four years. That's up from 78 percent in the previous school year.
Virginia's rate topped the national rate of 78 percent.
The state's dropout rate also improved. About 2 percent of high school students dropped out during the 2009-2010 school year, compared to 2.5 percent during the previous year.
