Over the past dozen years, schools, districts, and states have begun to focus increased attention on boosting high school graduation rates. During this period, the nation has seen more evidence-based educational reforms in low-performing schools, more support for struggling students, and better data and stronger accountability to chart progress and challenge. In 2006, an emerging group of leaders and institutions that would become the "GradNation" campaign set an ambitious goal: to raise the national high school graduation rate to 90 percent by the Class of 2020 and to take that goal seriously by fostering the reforms, supports, and accountability that could ensure more students stay on track to graduate. In 2012, the nation took a giant step toward achieving this goal by reaching the 80 percent threshold for the first time in history, up about 10 percentage points from the beginning of the decade. The upward trajectory of high school graduation rates over the past decade continued in 2013, as the national graduation rate hit a record high of 81.4 percent. For the third year in a row, the nation remained on pace to meet the 90 percent goal. This Executive Brief highlights high school graduation rates across the nation, and notes the progress being made by states and the subgroups of students represented within them. It also provides statistics on the benefits of earning a high school diploma to underscore the importance of getting students through this critical juncture. While the nation celebrates this achievement, it must also maintain a commitment to keeping standards high to ensure students are prepared to meet the challenges ahead. This Executive Brief keeps pace with the release of data on graduation rates and lays a foundation for the more comprehensive annual "Building a Grad Nation" report that will be issued in May 2015.