The just released Akron Public Schools report card shows a small improvement in graduation rates.

And the district could be in much better shape than other urban districts under new guidelines that will calculate those rates starting next year....

The graduation rate in Akron for the 2010-11 school year was 76.4 percent.

"Our graduation rate, we saw an increase in our graduation rate," district assistant superintendent for cirrriculum Ellen McWilliams told the Akron school board. "Not the huge jump that we are obviously working towards, but it is an increase from last year to this year."

If new guidelines counting students graduating "on-time" applied this year, the district would show a slight uptick in that rate.

That's compared to other urban districts in Ohio, which would see a rates much lower...and other Summit County districts also fare worse in the new standard.

The Akron district continues with a "continuous improvement" statewide rating.

But the Academic Yearly Progress rating for Akron is "not met" - McWilliams says because of an influx in students not speaking English as their first language.