A recent study by the Alliance for Excellent Education found that if those dropouts had instead earned diplomas, the state's economy would benefit from an additional $1.6 billion in accumulated wealth during the span of their work careers.

Nationally, almost 7,000 students drop out of high school every day, totaling almost 1.3 million annually, according to the Alliance for Excellent Education. That’s not just sad, it’s a national disgrace.

Though a majority of U.S. employers name writing as an essential skill in the information-based economy, the nation's schools all too often neglect to teach students how to write effectively, according to a new report by the Alliance for Excellent Education, an organization advocating for more federal support for secondary schools.

The need for adult education programs is reflected somewhat by the dramatic number of students dropping out of high school. Nationally, almost 7,000 students drop out of high school every [school] day, totaling almost 1.3 million annually, according to the Alliance for Excellent Education.

A group of education organizations concerned about the middle grades has made a move to get its voice heard in the upcoming reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act. ACT, the Alliance for Excellent Education, the College Board, the National Association of Secondary School Principals, The National Forum to Accelerate Middle Grades Reform, and the National Middle School Association recently sent reauthorization recommendations to Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chairman Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass. that would boost support to students in grades 5-8.

“My belief is that every decision [on education reform] has come from an elected official,” said former West Virginia Gov. Bob Wise, a Democrat, who is now the president of the Alliance for Excellent Education, a Washington-based group that works to improve high schools. “Whether you’re deciding to ratify a curriculum change or where to allocate precious dollars, that decision is made by elected officials.”

Lyndsay Pinkus of the Alliance for Excellent Education praised the move but said it takes more than a new set of rules to bring academic improvements. Officials have to make certain "that what's being taught is more rigorous . . . and that teachers have what they need to teach that rigor, and that students have the basic supports to receive it," Pinkus said. "If you're not doing all those things along with raising the requirements then that's not real education reform," she added.

Teens' literacy rates are dropping to the point that some consider it a crisis. The statistics are disconcerting, say representatives from the Alliance for Excellent Education, a Washington, D.C.-based advocacy group acting on behalf of at-risk, low-performing secondary school students.

At the national level, Congress has the opportunity to strengthen the No Child Left Behind Act so all children receive a high-quality education preparing them for the 21st century, former West Virginia Gov. Bob Wise testified last week at a hearing before the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance. He said this should include designating federal funds specifically to improve low-performing secondary schools, increasing high school graduation rates and improving every child's ability to read and write at grade level.

This week, at a Capitol Hill hearing on advancements in education standards, Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) heard from fellow West Virginians, former Governor Bob Wise and State Superintendent, Steve Paine who testified about challenges in education facing today’s students. . . . Governor Wise participated in Tuesday’s hearing on behalf of the Alliance for Excellent Education.