More Mississippi students are finishing high school. That’s according to numbers released by the state Department of Education.

The Class of 2008 included 599 more graduates than the previous year. There were also 356 more dropouts — enough to nudge the state’s dropout rate to 16 percent from 15.9 percent.

Madison County Schools have seen an increased graduation rate and fewer dropouts for the third-straight year. Many other school districts have seen graduation rates dip while the dropout rates increased.

The education department is aiming to reduce Mississippi’s dropout rate 13 percent by 2013. The department has also launched a campaign called On the Bus to promote its dropout prevention efforts and has instructed all of the state’s 152 school districts to develop dropout prevention plans.