More students are graduating! Tennesseans should be very pleased to learn that we have earned the number one ranking in a Johns Hopkins University report on states with the greatest gains in high school graduation rates. Entitled Raising Graduation Rates: A Series of Data Briefs – Progress Toward Increasing National And State Graduation Rates, researchers Robert Balfanz and Thomas C. West found that Tennessee had an outstanding 11.2% increase in the number of graduates – at least twice the increase of most of the other states with notable gains.
Looking for a model that other states might follow, Balfanz and West found that no one program or policy stood out as responsible for Tennessee’s great progress. Instead, they found that “context matters and graduation rates are not improved through a single program or policy but through a multiplicity of efforts at multiple levels within a state.” The researchers particularly noted that “Hamilton County also experienced substantial improvements in its graduation rate, coinciding with a notable district-wide high school reform effort.” (Click High Schools for a New Society for more information on Hamilton County high school reform.)
In spite of our great increase in graduates, Tennessee’s average graduation rate was still slightly below the national average when measured in 2006 (72% vs. 74%), but state data showed that increases were continuing beyond the study. Importantly, the report found that “it is possible to raise standards, increase accountability and have more students graduate,” noting that “Tennessee increased the challenge of its exams while it was experiencing significant gains in its graduation rates.” This is also true of Hamilton County, which saw increases in graduation rates after adopting a more rigorous single path diploma as part of high school reform efforts, and bodes well for long-term gains that our state can expect when new, higher standards go into place in 2010.