Jeff Bingaman United States Senator from New Mexico

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jeff Bingaman today said the U.S. Department of Education’s proposed changes to No Child Left Behind are a step in the right direction.

Education Secretary Margaret Spellings has announced the department will put in place a definition of “high school graduation rate” that has been agreed to by all 50 governors. Currently, states are not required to calculate graduation rates in the same way, which makes it difficult to get an accurate or useful graduation rate for states, school districts, or schools.

“Without accurate information on which students are not graduating from high school, we risk not accurately addressing the country’s dropout crisis. This proposed regulation change is a positive step forward in helping provide greater accountability for graduation rates in our schools,” Bingaman said.

“The Secretary's proposal, however, is only a Band-Aid on the many challenges schools face in meeting NCLB requirements. There is more that can be done and I look forward to working with my colleagues here in Congress to comprehensively address the many issues and challenges our students face and ensure young Americans graduate from high school with the education and skills necessary to compete in the 21st century,” Bingaman said.