MICHIGAN GRADUATION RATES SLIGHTLY BEHIND NATION

Michigan's overall graduation is virtually the same as the national rate, but it shows some significant gaps among some ethnic groups, according to a report released this week by the Editorial Projects in Education Research Center.  The report, part of the center's Diplomas Count 2008 project, showed overall 70.5 percent of Michigan high school students graduated within four years in 2005, the most recent national data available, compared to the national rate of 70.6 percent.   That put Michigan 32^nd among the states.  But the report showed some significant racial disparities in Michigan's graduation rate.   Only 42.2 percent of blacks overall graduated from state high schools, compared to 55.3 percent nationally.   And 45.9 percent of Hispanics graduated compared to 57.8 percent nationally.  And those racial gaps translated to both genders.   Some 34.6 percent of black boys and 48.5 percent of black girls graduated, compared to 48.2 percent and 61.3 percent respectively across the nation.   For Hispanics, 41.1 percent of boys and 45.7 percent of girls graduated, compared to national rates of 48.2 percent and 61.3 percent respectively.

The state also showed gaps, though not as large, for American Indian/Alaskan native children and Asian/Pacific islander children.  The report did acknowledge that its method of calculating graduation rates differed from the state's method.   Michigan's formula for calculating graduation rates in 2005 yielded a 17.2 percentage point higher result to 87.7 percent.   And the formula for the 2008 graduating class will be different because it will use the single record student database to track students across districts.  The report also looks at the effects of P-16 councils, which coordinate curriculum and programs from preschool through a four-year degree, on graduation rates.   But to be effective, the report said, the councils have to set measurable goals and report regularly on the progress toward those goals.  There are 40 P-16 councils across the country, but the report said about half of those have been created since 2005 and so did not have any possible effect on the statistics in the report.   And of those now in existence, only 18 have performance goals.

Though such bodies have been discussed in Michigan, the constitutional autonomy of the state universities could limit the effectiveness of such a council, officials have said.