Dropout rates fall

THE ISSUE

While the Legislature mulls a bill to raise the dropout age to 17 in Alabama, Shoals area schools are showing improvements in keeping students on track for graduation.

After years of dismal news about the state of public education in Alabama, there finally is some very good news.

A study by Johns Hopkins University of graduation rates shows that Alabama is among the top five in the nation in increasing the number of students who complete their secondary education.

The news is almost as good at the local level. Graduation rate figures released by the Alabama Department of Education show that most Shoals area schools have improved.

According to the study by the university's Everybody Graduates Center, Alabama's graduation rate increased 4.1 percent during the years 2002 and 2006. The state with the highest increase was Tennessee at 11 percent.

State school officials say remediation is one of the primary tools that has helped improve graduation rates.

Closer to home, two school systems exceeded the national goal of a 90 percent graduation rate in 2008. Russellville led the way with a 95 percent rate, followed by Muscle Shoals at 91 percent.

Russellville's graduation rate was up 7 percentage points from the previous year, while Muscle Shoals' was down 3 percentage points.

Here's how other area schools ranked in 2008: Lauderdale County, 89 percent; Tuscumbia, 84 percent; Colbert County, 81 percent (an improvement of 10 percentage points); Franklin County and Sheffield, 79 percent; and Florence, 71 percent.

An important tool in combating the dropout problem is moving through the Legislature in the form of a bill that would raise the age at which students may quit school from 16 to 17.

This should be passed without hesitation, even though it would require a greater investment in schools in the form of more teachers and more remediation programs.

If Alabama is to rise above its poverty-stricken past and become a destination for businesses that want more than a cheap labor force, it is essential that investment in education become the top priority of lawmakers.