...Bob Wise, former governor of West Virginia and president of the Washington-based advocacy group Alliance for Excellent Education, was far less upbeat. "Of the students entering high school in Georgia, 71 percent are writing below grade level, which means they don't have the writing skills they need to succeed," Wise said, also citing NAEP results.

...according to the Alliance for Excellent Education, students who are unprepared to enter college cost the U.S. economy more than $3.7 billion per year in lost earnings and remedial education costs.

"I think AT&T's grant is a milestone," said Bob Wise, president of the nonprofit Alliance for Excellent Education, which advocates for at-risk students. "There are a number of companies making contributions to individual schools or individual programs. But this is a very systematic approach. They're looking for areas where the waterfront hasn't been covered, where there's still a need. The result is a much more complete effort."

Nationally, the 1.2 million high school dropouts from the class of 2007 means a loss of nearly $61 billion in federal taxes in their lifetime, according to a report from the Alliance for Excellent Education, a Washington-based policy, research, and education advocacy organization.

“It’s bringing in another major corporate partner to the high-school-reform effort,” said former West Virginia Gov. Bob Wise, the executive director of the Alliance for Excellent Education, a Washington research and advocacy group. “No doubt, you have job shadowing for 100,000, you make this kind of contribution, you’re going to raise the bar for everybody.”

Audio: In the United States, only 70 percent of high school students are earning diplomas. Among minorities and the poor, that figure is even lower. Bob Wise says young Americans can do better. While governor of West Virginia, he got legislation passed that gives college scholarships to students who get a B average or better and do well on college entrance exams.

The Alliance for Excellent Education released its 2008 state reports, which included dollar amounts states could save by increasing their graduation rates. “There is a direct dollar and cents reason to improve education, especially in middle and high school. If you don’t, these are the costs taxpayers will be paying,” said Bob Wise, president of the alliance and former governor of West Virginia.

To promote a better distribution of effective teachers among schools, the federal government should tighten two major NCLB elements affecting how teachers are hired and trained, according to a policy brief released April 10 by the Alliance for Excellent Education.

...the planned move to a uniform definition of graduation rates is an important step in fixing the mistakes of the early days of implementing the 6-year-old NCLB law, said Michael T.S. Wotorson, the director of the Campaign for High School Equity. “I’m pleased with where we are,” said Mr. Wotorson, whose group includes the Alliance for Excellent Education, the National Council of La Raza, and the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights Education Fund, all based in Washington.

Former W.Va. Gov. Bob Wise will discuss his forthcoming book Raising the Grade: How High School Reform Can Save Our Youth And Our Nation and other secondary education issues as part of the Webster University Holden Public Policy Forum’s Issues in the 21st Century speaker series. The presentation will be held on Tuesday, April 15, at 5:30 p.m. at Webster’s campus in the Old Post Office.