Statement from Achieve President Michael Cohen on the 2014-15 National Graduation Rate

Achieve President Michael Cohen issued the following statement today regarding the nation's increased graduation rate for the class of 2014-2015:

"An increase in high school graduation rates across the country, to record levels and for all subgroups of students, is a positive development. At the end of the day, students are better off with a high school diploma than without one.

"But for too many new graduates, a high school diploma is still a ticket to nowhere rather than a passport to opportunity. For many new graduates, their high school diplomas only provide them with a false sense of achievement and with little ability to enter the workforce or college without significant remediation.

"Looking behind the increase in graduation rates tells a story that cannot be celebrated - stagnant test scores, the unchanged need for remediation by entering freshmen in two- and four-year colleges, and the fact that surveyed employers still have more jobs to fill than qualified applicants.

"States should turn their attention toward aligning their graduation requirements with the real world needs of employers and postsecondary education, including technical colleges. In an economy where a bachelor's degree or some additional training is needed to start a career with benefits and a pathway to advance, a high school diploma needs to signal readiness for a next step. It cannot be an end point."

Last year, Achieve released How the States Got their Rates, which examined the different diploma options available to students across all 50 states and identified which of them were at the college- and career-ready level. An updated edition of this report is forthcoming.

MEDIA CONTACT: Chad Colby (202) 419-1570, ccolby@achieve.org

Kelly Van Beveren (202) 745-2306, kvanbeveren@achieve.org