ATLANTA — Most Southern Regional Education Board states saw improvements in estimated public high school graduation rates, but they still have not done enough to address this critical problem, a national report released today shows.
The annual Diplomas Count report, published by the national newspaper Education Week, shows that 12 of the 16 SREB states had higher estimated graduation rates than in last year’s report, including three states that saw some of the largest gains in the nation. Florida, Kentucky and Tennessee all had gains of 5 percentage points or more for the Class of 2005. Five SREB states had gains between 2.5 and 4.9 points. Four SREB states saw smaller gains.
While state leaders are taking more notice of traditionally low graduation rates, they still need to take more action to improve students’ chances for graduation, said SREB President Dave Spence.
"No matter how you count the high school graduation rates, they are far too low in many states," Spence said. "This is one of our region’s most devastating problems for our economy and society."
Progress is Apparent, But Not Enough
Six of the 16 SREB states had higher estimated graduation rates than the national average of 70.6 percent listed in the report, the same number and group of states in last year’s report: Arkansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Oklahoma, Virginia and West Virginia.
The highest-ranked SREB state was Maryland, tied for 23rd nationally at 73.6 percent, when allowing for ties. Ten SREB states remained below the national average, including seven states among the lowest 10.
For the first time, Diplomas Count estimated the number of students in the current year’s class that dropped out before graduating. An estimated 4.2 million students began high school four years ago, and just under 3 million were projected to graduate in 2008 — meaning more than 1.2 million were not.
In SREB states, about 1.5 million students started the ninth grade four years ago, the report shows. Slightly more than 1 million were projected to graduate in 2008. That means more than 482,000 did not graduate — and thousands of students across the region dropped out each day. Research shows that as a result, states will lose billions of dollars in lost income and tax revenue and will see the impact in incarcerations, health care and social services. Every day in America, about 6,800 high school students quit school, the report says.
Taking Action to Raise Graduation Rates
State leaders in the SREB region are addressing this issue. SREB Chair and Governor of Georgia Sonny Perdue is leading a committee of state leaders developing state policy recommendations for helping all high schools raise both student achievement — as required by the federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) — and graduation rates at the same time.
A draft proposal that SREB Board members will consider in the coming weeks calls for states to hold schools equally accountable for both achievement gains and significant improvement in high school graduation rates — at a more ambitious pace than the federal government plans to require.
"Many state leaders now see the direct link between low graduation rates and economic and social ills," Spence said. "That’s why state leaders are preparing to take action. We’re proud that states are beginning to tackle these difficult issues, and we know there is much work to be done."
At Governor Perdue’s urging, Georgia became the first state in the nation to install "graduation coaches" — full-time educators charged with helping more students finish high school and proceed into college or career study — in virtually all public high schools and middle grades schools in the state. Oklahoma has passed legislation to provide graduation coaches there. Mississippi leaders have held statewide summits in the past year on the graduation problem.
What Else Can States Do?
SREB recommends many other strategies for states to raise graduation rates. A landmark 2005 SREB report on the topic urged SREB states to set annual graduation rate goals (both statewide and for every school), and help schools to meet those goals. Few states have publicly set those goals, and many states’ graduation rate goals as required by the NCLB law remain too low.
Also, a new SREB report urges states to improve career/technical education programs as a key to raising both achievement and high school graduation rates. The report, Crafting a New Vision for High School: How States Can Join Academic and Technical Studies to Promote More Powerful Learning, was released earlier this month in partnership with the Council of Chief State School Officers. The report calls for states to ensure that all students are able to connect their high school studies to career or educational goals, and it argues for higher standards for career/technical teachers, for the integration of higher-level academics in career courses, and for high school career courses to be more closely connected to industry certifications and two- and four-year college programs.
Different Ways to Calculate Graduation Rates
Diplomas Count graduation rates estimates differ from the rates SREB uses for its own comparisons. SREB uses the federal government’s method of estimating graduation rates as defined by the National Center for Education Statistics. The most recent data available from the federal government show that 75 percent of high school freshmen graduated on time in 2005, compared with a 70 percent rate for the region. The federal data show somewhat higher graduation rates in many SREB states than does Diplomas Count, although some of the nation’s lowest rates remain among SREB states under the federal measure.
Large School Systems in SREB States Rank High
Diplomas Count also shows estimates graduation rates for every school district in the nation. Among the 50 largest districts, SREB states had seven of the top 10 highest graduation rates, including second-ranked Cypress-Fairbanks in Texas at 89.6 percent; Montgomery, Baltimore and Anne Arundel counties in Maryland; Fairfax County in Virginia; and Wake and Guilford counties in North Carolina. SREB states also had some of the lowest rates among the 50 largest districts, including Baltimore city, the Nashville metro schools, Dallas, and Duval County in Florida.
This year’s report also examines state P-16 councils, which are groups of state leaders appointed to bring education systems together, from prekindergarten through graduate school. The SREB president remarks in an article in Diplomas Count that many state P-16 councils are not always effective. They should focus their work on helping students make smoother transitions between levels of education — and especially on preparing more students for college or career studies after high school graduation. (Most states do not have college- and career-readiness standards that require higher-level work from high school students and align with college placement standards.)
For more information, or to schedule an interview with an SREB staff member about Diplomas Count, contact SREB Communications.
A TIP FOR JOURNALISTS: On July 1, SREB plans to release officially the new SREB Challenge to Lead Goals for Education Scoreboards, which will report the latest graduation rates available from the federal government and many other indicators of each state’s progress on the region’s education goals. The Scoreboards are designed to provide the public and policy-makers with easy-to-read summaries of test scores, graduation rates, average salaries for teachers and college professors, and much more. The Scoreboards and more detailed state-by-state reports on each SREB state’s progress on the goals will be released during the SREB Annual Meeting in Florida. Embargoed copies will be available soon.
SREB, a nonprofit and nonpartisan organization based in Atlanta, Georgia, advises state education leaders on improving education. SREB was created in 1948 by Southern governors and legislatures to help leaders in education and government work cooperatively to advance education and improve the social and economic life of the region. SREB has 16 member states: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia. Each is represented by its governor and four gubernatorial appointees.
