Definition: The difference between the graduation rate of students who are eligible for free/reduced lunch and those who are not in the Sarasota County school system.

Source: Florida Department of Education

2025 Target: 11.88%

Below is a comparison of the value for this indicator among seven coastal counties: Charlotte, Sarasota, Collier, Lee, Manatee, Hillsborough, and Pinellas. These counties have been recommended as comparable counties by Sarasota County Government.

Socioeconomic Graduation Rate Gap (2016)

In the 2015-2016 school year, the gap in graduation rate between economically disadvantaged and non-economically disadvantaged students was 11.9%. In this year, 78.6% of economically disadvantaged students and 90.5% of non-economically disadvantaged students graduated with their cohort. This gap has decreased significantly from 19.4% in the 2010-2011 school year. The socioeconomic graduation rate gap is 1.2% smaller in Sarasota County than in the rest of the state (13.1%).

According to a national 2011 study sponsored by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, one of the biggest determinants of graduation rate is poverty. The results of a longitudinal study following nearly 4,000 students showed that 22% of children who have lived in poverty do not graduate from high school; only 6% of those who have never been poor do not go on to graduate. Children whose families live in poverty often do not have access to high quality child care, early education, or health care. Consequently, children of poor families tend to develop weaker academic skills and achieve less academic success. Children from low-income households are also less likely to reach reading proficiency by third grade.