Written by Bob Wise, former governor of West Virginia and current president of the Alliance for Excellent Education, Raising the Grade describes the alarming cost of our long-time neglect of secondary education. At a time when technology and postsecondary education requirements are rising dramatically in the workforce, the literacy skills of adolescents are not keeping pace. With most federal dollars targeted to elementary schools and higher education, few resources are allocated to improve high schools, to address the achievement gap threatening nearly 6 million students at risk of dropping out in the United States. Raising the Grade is rooted in the stories of real Americans whose high school experiences failed to engage or adequately prepare them for work or college.

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PRESS RELEASE
In the newly released book, Raising the Grade: How High School Reform Can Save Our Youth and Our Nation (Jossey-Bass), Governor Bob Wise, former governor of West Virginia and one of the nation’s leading experts on high school reform, draws attention to the crisis in America’s high schools that sees approximately 1.2 million students failing to graduate every year, and calls for a federal response to this pressing issue.

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"[A] 'must read' for practitioners, advocates, and policy makers concerned with the improvement of our high schools. Given the academic achievement gap between Hispanic and non-Hispanic youth, the book is especially relevant to HACU and our membership."

— ANTONIO R. FLORES, President and CEO, Hispanic Association of Colleges & Universities (HACU)

"This is an excellent book. Governor Wise uses a very effective blend of hard data, clear examples, vivid metaphors, and personal anecdotes to make the case for high school reform—and the specific actions that need to be taken. Every policymaker from the schoolhouse to the statehouse, and from the classroom to Congress, should read this book."

— GASTON CAPERTON, former two-term governor of West Virginia, president of the College Board

"Governor Wise has been a critical leader on identifying the problem and solutions to the dropout crisis and his insightful analysis should be a must-read for all who care about the future of our nation."

—U.S. CONGRESSMAN ROBERT “BOBBY” SCOTT (D-VA)

 “In Raising the Grade, Governor Wise uses his extensive experience in education to make a compelling case for the transformation of America’s high schools. The prosperity of every state—and our nation—demands a response to the issues that are so candidly described in this book. In it, the governor lays out an invaluable plan for federal action that should be required reading for every elected officeholder across the country.” 

—GOVERNOR JAMES B. HUNT, JR.,former governor of North Carolina (1977-1985; 1993-2001) and Chairman, James B. Hunt, Jr. Institute for Educational Leadership and Policy

RAISING THE GRADE IN THE NEWS

Public School Calendar Gets Failing Grade
MetroNews West Virginia
August 17, 2008

Former West Virginia Governor Bob Wise, who is now president of the Alliance for Excellent Education, writes in his book Raising the Grade, “The system that was designed for an earlier era has broken down under the strains of trying to meet the demands of an increasingly competitive society and rapidly changing global economy.”

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Alliance for Excellent Education President Bob Wise Appears on the Charlie Rose Show Video
The Charlie Rose Show
July 1, 2008

On July 1, Alliance for Excellent Education President Bob Wise appeared on the Charlie Rose show, discussing his new book, Raising the Grade, and the crisis in American high schools.

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Bob Wise’s Lesson Plan PDF
Roll Call
June 3, 2008

If Members of Congress see former Rep. Bob Wise (D-W.Va.) in their district, they shouldn’t be alarmed: He isn’t looking to resurrect his political career.... As governor, Wise’s signature education policy targeted college scholarships for better students. Then, after he left the governor’s office in 2005, he became president of Alliance for Excellent Education, an advocacy group committed to improving high schools. In his new role, Wise is testifying at hearings, traveling and now peddling his book, “Raising the Grade.” The book is a policy primer on improving high schools, emphasizing what works and what changes are needed.

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Highs hitting a low – US students flunking the global test PDF
New York Post
June 1, 2008

"It's not that our educational system is getting worse," said Bob Wise, author of Raising the Grade: How High School Reform Can Save Our Youth and Our Nation. "It's that a lot of others are concentrating and focusing and working harder and faster and stronger."

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Hard Roads Ahead PDF
The New York Times
May 17, 2008

[Alliance for Excellent Education President Bob] Wise believes (as does Bill Gates) that America’s high schools are for the most part obsolete, inherently ill equipped to meet the needs of 21st-century students. The system needs to be remade, reinvented. “It’s not that our system is getting worse,” he said. “It’s that other countries are coming on harder and faster.”

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Wise Right About U.S. High Schools
The Intelligencer/Wheeling News-Register (WV)
May 12, 2008

Former West Virginia Gov. Bob Wise is pointing out something that recently has landed some candidates for public office in hot water: “Those low-skill jobs that paid a livable wage are gone and they’re gone across most of the country.”

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Former W.Va. governor calls for school reforms
Associated Press via Times West Virginian
May 10, 2008

Former West Virginia Gov. Bob Wise sees a crisis in American high schools, and hopes citizens and politicians take note. Wise, who left office in 2005, is president of the Alliance for Excellent Education, a Washington, D.C., nonprofit organization that seeks better high schools and strives for more graduates. Wise says his new book — “Raising the Grade: How High School Reform Can Save Our Youth and Our Nation” — is a call to action.

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Failure
Charleston Gazette (WV)
May 7, 2008

AMERICA'S high schools are producing millions of failures - ill-educated teens with little prospect of success in the snowballing high-tech "information age" - former Gov. Bob Wise warns in a disturbing new book.... As president of the Alliance for Excellent Education in Washington, Wise has written Raising the Grade: How High School Reform Can Save Our Youth and Our Nation. The book says the multitude of dropouts and semiliterate graduates not only will suffer themselves, but they also will drag down America's economy.

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Bob Wise book urges reforms in high schools
Charleston Gazette (WV)
May 2, 2008

Former West Virginia Gov. Bob Wise sees a crisis in American high schools, and hopes citizens and politicians take note. Wise...is president of the Alliance for Excellent Education, a Washington, D.C., nonprofit organization that seeks better high schools and strives for more graduates. Wise says his new book - "Raising the Grade: How High School Reform Can Save Our Youth and Our Nation" - is a call to action.

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Former West Virginia governor’s book hits shelves Friday
Huntington Herald-Dispatch (WV)
May 1, 2008

Former West Virginia Gov. Bob Wise, now the president of the Alliance for Excellent Education, has written a book on education reform that hits shelves Friday. In “Raising the Grade: How High School Reform Can Save Our Youth and Our Nation,” Wise draws attention to the crisis in America’s high schools that sees approximately 1.2 million students failing to graduate each year.

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CLICK HERE to order the book.