A new national report from the Education Trust ought to put to rest the efforts of some state legislators to relax parts of Michigan 's recently enacted standards for high school graduation.

If anything, the findings of the child advocacy group's study "Counting on Graduation," which examined graduation requirements of a number of states, seem to validate that Michigan is moving in the right direction, setting the bar higher so that its students have tangible skills to offer in a more global economy.

After studying the graduation requirements of states, the Trust found startling examples of other states setting the bar too low. For example, in New Mexico and Delaware , schools will never be required to meet a graduation goal as long as their graduation rate does not show decline. New Mexico's is 67%; Delaware 's is 76%, comparable to Michigan 's unacceptable 75%. How can a state be prepared for the future when only two-thirds or even three-quarters of its kids have a high school diploma?

Michigan legislators should take note that this state is at the head of the class when it comes to setting meaningful graduation standards.

"Michigan is doing a better job than the majority of states in setting graduation goals for its schools," Anna Habash, policy analyst at the Education Trust and author of the report, said in a telephone interview. "It now has some of the highest academic requirements in the country. The research tells us that when students drop out, the number one reason is that school wasn't challenging enough. Students are actually calling for higher standards, not lower ones."

Nationally, high school graduation goals range from a low of just 50% in Nevada to Georgia's commendable target of 100% by 2014. For now, Michigan wants its schools to aim for a graduation rate of 85%.

It's a strong step toward progress. Legislators should stop threatening to undermine the state's potential with needless talk of relaxing some portions of the state's new curriculum.

Read the Education Trust report…

Source: Detroit Free Press, 10.30.08