AUSTIN (January 22, 2013)--A new federal study released Tuesday found that Texas' four-year high school graduation rate climbed to 78.9 percent for the Class of 2010, just above the national average, but below recent findings that suggested Texas was among the country's leaders in on-time high school completion.

The National Center for Education Statistics released the report Tuesday that shows four-year graduation rates statewide rose from 73.1 percent in 2006-2007 to 78.9 percent in 2009-2010.

Nationally, the on-time graduation rate was 78.2 percent, which means nearly half of America's other states had graduation rates higher than Texas.

Separate U.S. Department of Education data from November found that Texas' four-year graduation rate was 86 percent for the Class of 2011, which tied Texas with five other states for the nation's third-best high school graduation rate.