A year after the nation鈥檚 50 governors agreed to abide by a single formula for calculating graduation rates, two states have backed out of the pledge, and more are years away from meeting the new standard.
That鈥檚 according to a progress report prepared by the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and released during the NGA鈥檚 annual meeting, held here earlier this month. The governors of the 50 states and Puerto Rico last year signed the 鈥淕raduation Counts Compact,鈥� promising to use a standard formula for measuring the rate of students鈥� high school completion. (鈥淓fforts Seek Better Data on Graduates,鈥� July 27, 2005.)
But the center鈥檚 researchers found that North Dakota and South Dakota don鈥檛 plan to use the method, which measures the number of students who enter 9th grade against the number who graduate with a high school diploma four years later.
Other states鈥� progress is sluggish.
Missouri hasn鈥檛 even begun to collect data on 9th graders because its data system isn鈥檛 ready, and won鈥檛 be until at least 2008, the 17-page report says. Illinois鈥� graduation rate differs significantly from what the compact calls for because it factors in students who take longer than four years to graduate.
鈥淲hile the governors鈥� compact represents a commitment to make progress in this area, one year later its potential remains unrealized,鈥� Ross Wiener, the policy director for the Education Trust, said in a statement. 鈥淭he need, however, remains urgent.鈥�
The trust, a Washington-based research and advocacy group, published a report in June critical of the differing methods states use to calculate graduation rates.
Still, according to the NGA Center for Best Practices, 39 states are making significant progress by compiling the necessary data and preparing within four years to report the most accurate account yet of high school completion.
鈥淚 am surprised that so many states have made progress,鈥� said Dane Linn, the education division director for the center. He pointed to Maryland as a model state for putting the compact on graduation rates into law.
The center鈥檚 report, 鈥淚mplementing Graduation Counts: State Progress to Date,鈥� is available at www.nga.org.
Have most federal officials passed 9thgrade civics?
It was a question asked by Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, the outgoing NGA chairman and a possible 2008 presidential contender, during a session with reporters at a dinner on the opening night of the Aug. 4-7 conference.
An overriding theme of his remarks鈥攚hether the topic was immigration, the National Guard, or health care鈥攚as his contention that the federal government is overstepping its bounds in telling states what to do.
Gov. Huckabee, a Republican, questioned whether federal officials had ever passed 9th grade civics. In fact, he repeated the question several times during the NGA meeting.
So does he think the federal government overreached by enacting the No Child Left Behind law?
鈥淭his may surprise you, but no,鈥� Mr. Huckabee said during the session with reporters. He explained that he believes the 4陆-year-old overhaul of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act gives states flexibility to set their own standards and implement their own testing systems.
As the NGA鈥檚 new leader, Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano will make education the centerpiece of her agenda.
Dubbed 鈥淚nnovation America,鈥� Gov. Napolitano鈥檚 initiative will focus on bolstering student achievement in mathematics and science, while making sure students understand how the skills learned in the classroom apply to real-world careers.
Math and science academies could be part of the mix.
Gov. Napolitano鈥檚 emphasis during her 2006-07 chairmanship will be on growing a workforce that meets the needs of particular regions鈥攚hether engineering in Washington state, agri-science in Iowa, or biosciences in Arizona.
A task force will meet throughout the year to develop and promote the NGA initiative. Ms. Napolitano, a Democrat, said her initiative would seek to merge similar state efforts into a model program that could be replicated.
鈥淥ur economy is in danger of falling behind,鈥� she said in an interview. 鈥淲e need to produce a workforce that can compete in the 21st century.鈥�
Given the NGA鈥檚 emphasis on math and science, it was fitting that the conference featured a science fair, which showcased some of the brightest students in the country.
Graham Van Schaik, 16, from Columbia, S.C., tackled breast-cancer prevention by testing whether small amounts of pesticides found on common fruits, vegetables, and meats were enough to provoke abnormal human breast cells to grow.
Justin Solomon, 18, from Oakton, Va., showed off his 3-D face-recognition software, which he developed using advanced math and algorithms. He said his software could be used to better identify people, with possible uses in security and robotics.
And Morgen E. Anyan, who graduated this year from Selah High School in Selah, Wash., discovered a new way to remove metals from contaminated water.
鈥淚t鈥檚 natural, it鈥檚 safe, and it鈥檚 really very simple,鈥� said Ms. Anyan, 18, whose explanation of how she conducted the research was anything but simple. She said she got interested in science in the 6th grade, when teachers required her to tackle in-depth research projects.
She鈥檚 planning to study environmental engineering at Washington State University in Pullman, Wash., this fall.
