One group of number-crunchers is cautiously optimistic these days: the team of education researchers who compile annual graduation rates. The numbers are slowly but steadily rising, allowing a focus on districts that are exceeding expectations and also spurring discussion on what a high school diploma should represent.

Indiana is among states that have shown steady progress and, more important, is among states with a clear definition of college-ready. Its Core 40 graduation requirements and other standards were among those cited by the Editorial Projects in Education team that compiled the annual “Diplomas Count” survey. There’s room for improvement, but Hoosiers should recognize the progress made as lawmakers weigh spending priorities in the special session now under way.

Unlike state-reported graduation rates, the survey offers an apples-to-apples comparison by using the Cumulative Promotion Index method. It calculates a graduation rate by using promotion ratios, arriving at a 69.2 percent rate for the U.S. class of 2006. That was an increase of 2.8 percentage points over a decade.

Indiana’s rate under the index was 73.3 percent, with a 10-year increase of 3.5 percentage points.

One interesting feature of the survey is a calculation of individual school districts’ performance as compared to school systems with similar demographic characteristics. A score greater than 100 indicates the school district is outperforming expectations. Each of the four Allen County districts scored above 100, including East Allen County Schools, which earns a performance score of 116.

The study also points to “overachievers” – districts wildly exceeding expectations. Warren Township Schools in Indianapolis, an urban district on the city’s east side, is among those. The district scored 134 in its comparison with similar districts.

The improvement trend confirmed by the annual survey is evidence that the state is making progress, contrary to the talking points of school critics, including state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Bennett, who complained to a Terre Haute TV station recently: “We put a lot of money in education over the last four or five years in terms of increases, and we’ve really had negligible results.”

His words slight the progress made in increasing the number of Indiana high school graduates and the progress made in sending increasing numbers on to higher education – one of the state’s true success stories. The number of Hoosiers with at least a bachelor’s degree has grown from an embarrassing 15.6 percent in 1998 to almost 22 percent last year.

Indiana’s efforts to develop strong academic standards and to ensure its graduates are prepared for education beyond high school play a part, no doubt. As legislators weigh budget priorities in the special session, they should have no doubts about the difference they’ve made in offering strong support to education.