Gov and Education Sec unveil new program to prepare students

According to the governor, 20 percent of Arkansas ninth graders do not stay in school until graduation. The rate is even higher for African-Americans and Hispanic students. The Governor also said that more than 50 percent of Arkansas students who go straight to college require remedial courses in both math and English. Although Arkansas exceeds the national average in the number of students who start college GÇô 42 percent compared to 40 percent nationally GÇô Arkansas falls behind the national average in terms of students who stay in college and graduate. Only 15 percent of Arkansas students actually graduate, compared to 19 percent nationally. Dr. James said the establishment of Smart Core, a rigorous high school curriculum that is the default set of courses for all high school students in the state, is a step in the right direction. Beginning with this year`s ninth graders all students must pursue Smart Core, unless their parents sign a waiver for them to opt out. Dr. James also introduced a new statewide media campaign that will help make the public, especially students and parents, aware of the need to stay in school and enrolled in the Smart Core curriculum. According to Achieve, Inc., of Washington, D.C., jobs that require at least some postsecondary education will make up more than two-thirds of new jobs between now and 2010. High school graduation rates have dropped over the past 20 years to about 73 percent, leaving the U.S. currently ranked 16th in the world behind countries like Denmark, Norway, Germany and Japan. (Copyright 2006 Newsroom Solutions, LLC)