NATCHEZ — Natchez High School’s graduation rate improved by 8 percentage points from the 2013-14 to 2014-15 school years, though it still lags behind state and national averages.

The graduation rate in the Natchez-Adams School District improved from 63 percent to 71.7 percent. The state average for the 2014-15 graduation rate was 78.4 percent, compared to 74.5 in the previous year.

The most recent graduation rate statistics available nationally were for the 2013 school year, which was 82 percent.

State Superintendent Carey Wright said the increase is due to school districts’ efforts to increase attendance and focusing on at-risk students.

“Those efforts, as well as the Mississippi Department of Education providing more technical assistance to districts and school counselors to help students explore multiple pathways to college and careers, have contributed to dramatic decreases in students leaving school and increases in graduation,” Wright said. “However, there are districts in the state that still struggle to keep students on the path to a high school diploma, which means we have more work to do.”

The Natchez Adams graduation rate for students with disabilities was 20 percentage points below the state average at 7.5 percent for the 2014-15 school year. The district had 27 students in this category.

Mississippi’s graduation rate for special needs children was 27.5 percent this past year. In 2013, the rate was 22.2 percent, which was the lowest nationwide.

“We are far from where we need to be when it comes to graduation rates for students with disabilities,” Wright said. “The MDE will continue to provide technical assistance to help (local schools) support the educational needs of all students.”

Interim superintendent Fred Butcher deferred to Natchez High School principal Tony Fields for comment.

Fields, however, did not return messages left for him.