A new study from the Education Research Center, highlighted in articles published by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and New York Times, illustrates that, even with recent reforms, graduation rates in Atlanta continue to be low.  According to the study, Cities in Crisis 2009: Closing the Graduation Gap, only 44% of Atlanta Public School students graduated on-time in 2005.  This ranks the system 45th out of America’s 50 largest cities.  The study also pegs the graduation rate of suburban Atlanta to be around 62%.  While this urban-suburban achievement gap ranks 20th of America’s 50 largest cities, these numbers are still dismal. 

The importance of graduating from high school is amplified in tough economic times.  Researchers found a significant correlation between graduation rates and steady employment, income and poverty. 

Another study cited in the New York Times, The Economic Impact of the Achievement Gap in America’s Schools, conducted by the management consulting firm McKinsey & Company, attempts to quantify the economic impact of four educational achievement gaps: between black and Hispanic children and white children; between poor and wealthy students; between Americans and students abroad; and between students of similar background educated in different parts of the country.  Each of these achievement gaps can be exacerbated by low graduation rates. 

When students fail to attain basic levels of education, like graduating from high school, families may enter cycles of poverty.  Bold changes are a must.  We need immediate and long-term systemic reforms.  Parents should be allowed to decide which school is best for their child, no matter if the school is public or private.  Public schools should be allowed to adapt to changing needs and demands.  Rigid rules and regulations simply stifle innovation and disserve our children.  Quality teachers and administrators should be given the incentive to remain in education and become even better.

Georgia has taken the first steps towards meaningful reform.  Today, special needs children are eligible for a school voucher good at public and private schools across Georgia, and thousands more will benefit from the Tuition Tax Credit Scholarship program in years to come.  A bill before Governor Perdue will allow students to transfer to any school within their home school system.  Charter schools, which are designed to promote educational innovation in our public school system, are growing in number and quality.  Each public school system also has the opportunity to become a charter system or sign a flexibility contract with the state to help ease the pressure of restrictive rules and regulations.  And differential pay for quality math and science teachers was recently made a reality.

These measures are a great start, but there is more work to be done.  As the studies highlighted above show, Georgia, although making strides towards improvement, still ranks near the bottom of every graduation rate measure.  Our taxpayers are not receiving a proper return on their investment in public education.  We cannot allow another generation of children to slip into cycles of poverty.  We cannot allow our education recession to continue any longer.