Answer: About 91 percent, ranking among the top five states in the nation.

Or 86 percent, in the top 10.

Or 77 percent, ranking 11th.

It all depends on who is counting — the state government, the federal government or independent analysts.

Shouldn't there be one straight answer?

Yes.

That's why Congress ought to approve the Bush administration's plan to require all states to calculate graduation rates by the same formula — one endorsed by the National Governors Association in 2005.

A standard graduation rate formula is central to evaluating and solving one of the nation's biggest social problems — the high school dropout rate.

To understand the depth of the dropout problem, where it is most troublesome and which states are coming up with the best solutions, it's necessary to compare graduation rates across state borders. And that requires a common graduation rate formula.

Furthermore, government officials, educators, parents and taxpayers should have a common source of comparison so they can hold schools accountable for their performances.

Calculating graduation rates might sound like a simple exercise. But it's not.

In recent years states have differed in how they count students who drop out, then earn a General Educational Development certificate, known as a GED.

In addition, some states have figured graduation rates only on students who started their senior year. Other differences include how states count students who take longer than four years to graduate.

Wisconsin, which changed its graduation rate formula in 1997-98 and its dropout rate formula in 2003-04, has often been accused of inflating graduation numbers.

A fuss erupted in 2004 after a study conducted by Harvard University and the Urban Institute showed Wisconsin's graduation rate for 2002-03 at only 78.2 percent.

The state was boasting of a 91.8 percent graduation rate.

Wisconsin defended its rate and argued that the Harvard study used a misleading formula.

The question is not so much who is right as how are we supposed to evaluate, compare and hold accountable if there are so many different answers to the same question.

It's time to require all states to calculate graduation rates the same way.

Depends on who counts

Graduation rate According to
91.2 percent state Department of Public Instruction
85.8 percent U.S. Department of Education
77.3 percent Editorial Projects in Education Research Center

Source: Alliance for Excellent Education, February 2008.