Oregon’s graduation rate for the class of 2017 ranks No. 49 in the nation, the federal government announced Thursday.

Oregon’s rate -- 77 percent -- was the lowest of any state except New Mexico, where the rate was a paltry 71 percent.

Nevada, which had previously trailed Oregon, leap-frogged ahead and achieved an 81 percent on-time graduation rate, the U.S. Department of Education said.

Nevada’s big increase occurred after the state dropped its longstanding requirement that students pass exams on reading, writing, math and science to get a diploma. Oregon does not require students to pass such exams to graduate.

The new federal report does not indicate how Oregon’s most current graduation rate -- 79 percent for the class of 2018 -- compares to other states'.

It was a coincidence that the National Center for Education Statistics announced the state-by-state rates and new U.S. average graduation rate -- 84.6 percent -- for the class of 2017 on the same day that Oregon officials announced the state’s graduation rate for the class of 2018.

State officials crowed about the improvement Oregon schools brought about from 2017 to 2018, with increases of 2 percentage points or more for Latino, Native American and white students, for low-income students and for girls and for boys.

The news was not as bright in the latest federal report for the class of 2017. The national graduation rate increased just 0.5 percentage points, the most tepid improvement since 2011.

Five states achieved graduation rates of at least 90 percent, led by Iowa and New Jersey at 91 percent.

-- Betsy Hammond

betsyhammond@oregonian.com