For the first time in decades, the United States is making steady gains in the number of high school students earning diplomas, putting it on pace to reach a 90% graduation rate by 2020, according to a new analysis

But minority students continue to fall well behind their white peers, with about one-third of African-American students and 29% of Hispanic students dropping out before graduation. In Nevada, for instance, just 43% of African-American students earned their diplomas in 2011. Even generally high-performing states such Wisconsin, Massachusetts and Connecticut have strikingly poor records with some minority students. Minnesota has the biggest gaps: The graduation rate for African-American and Hispanic students hovered around 50% in 2011, compared to 84% for white students.