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LA Unified’s preliminary graduation rate climbed seven points for the class 2014-15, making it the ninth straight year the district has seen an increase. Seventy-four percent of seniors earned their diploma in the spring, the district announced this afternoon.

An additional four points was added to the total from Senate Bill 725, the district said, which allowed about 1,400 of last year’s seniors to graduate even though they had not passed the California High School Exit Exam.

Comprehensive high schools also saw an increase to 83 percent, up from 77 percent in 2013-14. The rate for comprehensive high schools does not include continuation or other alternative high schools.

The final graduation rates will be calculated  by the state in the spring. In 2013-14, the state’s final graduation rate for LA Unified was 70 percent.

“These results reflect the efforts by our teachers, administrators and staff to prepare our graduates for college and careers,” Superintendent Ramon Cortines said in a statement. “I am very proud of their hard work, and of the accomplishments of our new graduates.”

This year’s numbers represent a 29 percent increase in graduation rates since 2006-07, when the dLA Unified began calculating the preliminary rate, the district pointed out in a press release.