Cary, N.C. — The dropout rate for high school students in the Wake County Public School System fell to 3.25 percent for the 2010-11 school year, according to numbers provided Thursday afternoon by the district.

The rate is lower than the state average of 3.43 percent, as well as most of the large urban school districts, including Durham, Forsyth and Mecklenburg counties, as reported by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction.

Wake County's dropout rate in 2009-10 was 3.53 percent.

“We are moving in the right direction, but not fast enough,” Superintendent Tony Tata said in a statement. “We have to scrutinize our programs to ensure we invest in ones that get results for students if we hope to have a genuine impact.”

Dropout rates for various subgroups improved as well.

The rate for Hispanic/Latino students fell from 6.9 percent to 5.8 percent, marking the fifth consecutive drop for this group. Black students had their lowest dropout rate since 2003-04, at 5.4 percent. The dropout rate for white students remained below 2 percent for the third year in a row.

The dropout rate also decreased to 6.5 percent for students with disabilities and stayed level at 5.3 percent for students who are considered economically disadvantaged.