12 States Increase Graduation Rates
Twelve states increased their graduation rates substantially between 2002 and 2006, making them models for the nation - according to a new data brief from the Everyone Graduates Center. The Center is located at the Center for Social Organization of Schools (CSOS), Johns Hopkins University.
The States
The 12 states (listed from largest to smallest graduation rate gains) are:
- Tennessee
- Delaware
- Kentucky
- South Dakota
- Arkansas
- Alabama
- North Carolina
- New York
- Hawaii
- Missouri
- Nebraska
- New Hampshire
Graduation rate gains ranged from 11.2 percent in Tennessee to 3.0 percent in New Hampshire.
The Reforms They Used
The states implemented a wide variety - and combination of - reforms, including these:
- Raising the legal age for dropping out of school
- Creating small learning communities in large high schools
- Increasing the number of students with disabilities who received regular diplomas
- Making increased graduation rates a state priority
In addition, reforms that had been implemented years earlier in elementary and middle school resulted in higher graduation rates.
Read the data brief Progress Toward Increasing National and State Graduation Rates by Robert Balfanz, a senior research scientist at CSOS, and Thomas West, a senior research analyst at the University of Chicago’s National Opinion Research Center.
This brief is first in a series of briefs on progress in raising graduation rates in the nation and in each of the 50 states. Future briefs will look at progress in the nation’s largest 50 cities, and among high schools with the lowest graduation rates.
Related Links
- Graduation Rates - How Is Your State Doing? - See data profiles on all 50 states.
- Dropout Rates Drop in Massachusetts - Learn the factors that helped Massachusetts substantially reduce its dropout rate from 2004 to 2006.
COMMENTS: