African-American public high school students graduated at 68 percent in 2012 — a 9 percent increase since 2006, according to a new report released by the Department of Education.

The overall high school graduation rate in America is at 80 percent, the highest in history. Some of those gains are credited to the increase in African-American and Latino graduates, since 2006.

There were also fewer reports of "dropout factories," schools that graduate less than 60 percent of its students. Nearly a quarter of African-American students attended these schools in 2012. A decade ago, 46 percent of Blacks attended a dropout factory.

Researchers are now aiming to reach a 90 percent graduation rate nationally by the year 2020.

In order to achieve that next milestone, authors of the report suggest that educators aim to improve outcomes for special education students. Also the racial and income gaps must be closed, particularly in big cities, where students still graduate at 60 percent or less.

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