Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions

STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS -- (Senate - April 27, 2005)

By Mrs. MURRAY (for herself, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. KENNEDY, and Mrs. CLINTON):

S. 921. A bill to provide for secondary school reform, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I am pleased today to introduce a bill with Senators DURBIN, KENNEDY, and CLINTON that will help our Nation's high school students graduate with the knowledge necessary to succeed in post-secondary education and the skills needed to succeed in the workforce.

Unfortunately too many high school students today are not completing high school at all or with the skills necessary to enter post-secondary education or the workforce. The statistics are staggering. Every day, 3,000 teenagers drop out of high school. This year over 500,000 students will drop out of high school. Overall, less than 70 percent of high school students will graduate and less than 50 percent of high school students of color will graduate.

Of 100 9th graders, less than 70 percent will graduate on time, only 38 percent will directly enter college, only 26 percent will still be enrolled in their sophomore year, and only 18 percent will graduate from college. That number is even lower for minority students. Forty percent of students entering 4-year colleges and nearly 70 percent of students entering community colleges will take remedial classes in reading, writing or math, extending their years in and the cost of college.

Only one-third of the U.S. workforce has any post-secondary education but it is estimated that 60 percent of new jobs in the 21st century will require a post-secondary education. Business will spend billions of dollars on remediation for their employees in reading, writing and math.

We can do better and we must do better for our Nation's students, their families, and American business. Currently, high school students are graduating at meager rates and even if they are graduating from high school, they are not leaving high school with the skills and knowledge to enter the workforce or be successful in college. That is why I have written and am introducing the Pathways for All Students to Succeed Act or the PASS Act.

The PASS Act targets high school reform in three key areas: core academics, improving graduation rates, and assistance to low-performing schools to improve student achievement through innovative models. The PASS Act will help improve student achievement in core academics and reduce the need for remediation in college and the workplace through grants for schools to hire literacy and math coaches. Literacy and math coaches bring professional development back into schools and classrooms. Coaches help teachers identify which students are having reading or math problems, how to respond to such problems, and how to integrate literacy and math skills across curricula.

The PASS Act also targets dropouts and low graduation rates through grants for academic counselors and a meaningful graduation rate calculation. Time after time I have talked to students in their senior year who have said, ``I didn't know I needed four years of math to graduate and get into college.'' Part of the problem is that our counselors are completely overwhelmed. The current national average ratio of students to counselors is over 450 to 1. My bill would provide grants to bring that ratio down to 150 to 1. Academic counselors will also work with students and their families to create 6 year graduation and career plans that will help students identify what classes they need to graduate and achieve their post-secondary goals, whether those goals are training or college, and identify support services such as GEAR UP and TRIO that are available to the student.

The PASS Act also provides grants to schools for data collection, and specifically on graduation rates. Currently schools do not have a way to accurately calculate graduation rates. The Department of Education only requires schools to report the graduation rate based on 12th grade data and we all know that is not when students drop out. The PASS Act provides schools with funding to collect, disaggregate, and report accurate graduation rates so that schools can correctly diagnose and address problems facing specific student populations.

And lastly the PASS Act provides additional funding for schools labeled ``in need of improvement'' to implement proven, innovative reforms leading to gains in student achievement. I often talk to principals who tell me they know what they need to do to improve their schools; they just don't have the funds to make the necessary changes. Such reforms include smaller learning communities, adolescent literacy programs, whole school reforms, personalized learning environments, and programs that target transitions between middle and secondary school.

Congress must act now and act boldly to correct the shortfalls in our nation's high schools. We can and must do better. I hope my colleagues will join me in supporting this bill and addressing the needs of our high school students.

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