GOODLETTSVILLE, Tenn. - Tennessee's high school graduation rate has steadily declined over the years, but Gov. Phil Bredesen on Tuesday outlined a nearly $50 million three-part plan to raise it to 90 percent by 2012.
The governor, who is up for re-election this fall, told the Madison-Goodlettsville Rotary Club that his proposal involved reducing absenteeism, designing individual "learning plans" for students and offering free tuition to community colleges who score well on achievement tests.
"These rates have been declining for a generation," Bredesen said. "Let's open the horizons and make sure every young person has the best possible shot at making the most of the God-given talents that they have."
Republicans accused the governor of failing to act on slipping graduation rates since being elected in 2002, and called the plan an election-year ploy.
Tennessee's current graduation rate is 78 percent, according to Rachel Woods, spokeswoman for the state Department of Education.
She said there isn't a set national rate for high school graduation, because each state measures its rate differently.
However, a recent report shows dropping out of high school is a big problem nationwide.
"Education at a Glance," an annual study by the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development that compares industrialized nations, showed adults who don't finish high school in the U.S. earn 65 percent of what people who have high school degrees make.
Bredesen, a Democrat, said such statistics emphasize the importance of completing high school and considering a higher education.
"It's the key to continuing an education or, at a minimum, getting a decent job that pays a decent wage and offers decent benefits," he said.
One problem the plan would focus on is making sure students show up for school.
The governor's office cited a March 2006 study by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation that showed roughly 43 percent of American students who dropped out said it was because they "missed too many days of school and couldn't catch up."
Bredesen wants to place a truancy officer in each one of Tennessee's 400 high schools, at a cost of about $25 million.
The governor also wants to spend $1 million to test Tennessee eighth-graders to see how much they know, and if necessary, design individual learning plans to bring them up to speed before the 10th grade. Another round of tests would determine the effectiveness of the plans.
In his third provision, Bredesen wants to spend between $20 million and $30 million to reward students with a full ride to a state community college if they can demonstrate a reasonable level of college readiness, measured by a score of at least 19 on the ACT test.
Bredesen pointed to Sullivan County where local governments pay for graduates' tuition at Northeast State Community College. In Kingsport city schools, he said the 2005 graduation rate was about 85 percent. "The reality is, some young adults view high school as a means to an end so they can quickly get a job, any job," Bredesen said. "But I believe if we give them a carrot, a real incentive, that some of them may be willing to stick with it longer and, hopefully, see it through all the way to the end."
Tennessee Republican Chairman Bob Davis issued a release questioning why Bredesen waited to an election year to propose such a plan.
"Where has Governor Bredesen been on this issue for the past three years?" Davis asked.
Lance Frizzell, a spokesman for Bredesen's likely Republican opponent in November, state Sen. Jim Bryson, said the state's graduation rate has slipped under the governor's watch.
"We've been through 95 counties talking about Tennessee's falling graduation rates under Bredesen," Frizzell said.
Bryson has suggested that teaching job-specific skills at high schools or offering more Internet-based classes to rural schools would improve graduation rates. He also supports greater access to charter schools and more choice of public schools for parents.
Bredesen, if re-elected, plans to present his proposal to the General Assembly when it convenes next January.
Sen. Joe Haynes, who attended Tuesday's civic club luncheon, said he couldn't speak on behalf of the Legislature, but he thought the governor's plan was interesting.
"He's proposed some thought-provoking provisions," said Haynes, a Goodlettsville Democrat.
