By Alabama Public Radio
Montgomery, AL – New census figures say Alabama's graduation rate is near the bottom of a national ranking...but officials say the numbers are still an improvement for the state. 79-point-nine percent of Alabamians 25 years old or older are high school graduates. Only Texas, West Virginia and Louisiana have lower percentages of residents in that age range holding high school diplomas. But interim state schools Superintendent Joe Morton says the almost 80 percent rate was higher than Alabama has ever seen. Nationally, 85 percent of adults 25 and over have completed at least high school. The Census figures that were released Tuesday also show that 27 percent of adults over age 25 in the United States hold college degrees. In Alabama, that number drops to 23-point-nine percent.