Dec 15, 2015 03:35 PM EST By Russell Westerholm, UniversityHerald Reporter

A slight increase in the high school graduation rate in the United States will help Education Secretary Arne Duncan leave the office on a high note.

Duncan has been a polarizing figure in large part because student loan management under his watch, but for the second straight school season the U.S. high school graduation rate trended upward. Duncan is set to resign at the end of the month.

The Education Department announced Tuesday 82 percent of U.S. high school students earned their diploma in the 2013-2014 academic year, up a percentage point from the previous year. The ED also revealed that black and Hispanic students are continuing to close the graduation gap with white students.

According to The Washington Post, National Center for Education Statistics measured the graduation rate by dividing graduates by the amount of freshmen that started high school four years earlier, with some adjustment allowed for transfer students.

"America's students have achieved another record milestone by improving graduation rates for a fourth year," Duncan said in a statement. "The hard work of teachers, administrators, students and their families has made these gains possible and as a result many more students will have a better chance of going to college, getting a good job, owning their own home, and supporting a family. We can take pride as a nation in knowing that we're seeing promising gains, including for students of color."

The new data indicates more students are becoming college eligible by graduating on time. Past studies have suggested college degree holders earn more in their average mid-career salary than those with just a high school diploma.

Today's high school graduates are also applying for college at a time when the federal government is taking strides to make attending a higher education institution more affordable and more valuable for the cost.

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