Chairman Miller Statement on Administration’s Proposal to Establish Uniform Graduation Rate

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

WASHINGTON, DC --U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, issued the following statement in response to an announcement made today by U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings that she plans to establish a uniform federal formula that all states will be required to use to determine high school graduation and dropout rates. Until now, the Bush administration has allowed states to use a broad range of formulas to calculate their graduation and dropout rates.

“There is a clear need for uniform national reporting on graduation rates in order to help address our nation’s dropout crisis. Governors across many states have shown great leadership on this issue, and last year I proposed a uniform graduation rate that would build on their efforts. I look forward to further reviewing the Secretary’s proposal in detail to see if it presents the right approach for establishing a national formula to accurately determine graduation rates. Still, it is unfortunate that the Bush administration rejected an opportunity last year to work with Congress in a bipartisan way on comprehensive reforms to the No Child Left Behind law, and has instead chosen to make piecemeal changes to a law that educators and parents know is in need of significant improvement.”

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