OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Schools in Oklahoma City, Edmond and Norman have the state's top average composite ACT exam scores for 2010.

State Department of Education officials released the school-by-school ACT numbers on Thursday. The college admission and placement test is graded on a scale from 0 to 36.

The Oklahoma School for Science and Mathematics in Oklahoma City had the top average composite score, with a 31.4.

Edmond North High School was next at 24.3, while Classen School for Advanced Studies in Oklahoma City was at 24.2, Norman North High School was at 24.0 and Jenks High School was at 23.7.

The average composite score for Oklahoma students taking the test remained steady this year at 20.7. The national average is 21.0.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Ninety Oklahoma schools are on the state's school improvement list during this school year under standards set by the federal No Child Left Behind law.

The Oklahoma State Department of Education released the list Thursday during a meeting of the state Board of Education.

Under the law, schools are placed on the list after failing to meet testing benchmarks for all categories of students for two straight years. Those schools face increasingly stiff consequences each year after being on the list for two years.

Of the 90 schools, 62 of them are on the list for the first year.

Eleven schools, all in Oklahoma and Tulsa counties, have been on the list for three years or more. Two Tulsa high schools, Nathan Hale and Will Rogers, are entering their sixth year on the list.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Education officials predict massive teacher layoffs and larger class sizes next school year if lawmakers slash the common education budget by 10 percent.

Officials with the State Department of Education told members of a House budget panel on Monday that such a cut would lead to $244 million less funding for education.

As lawmakers deal with a $1.2 billion shortfall for the fiscal year that begins July 1, agencies are being asked to tell members how they would deal with a 10 percent cut.

Education Department Chief of Staff Lealon Taylor (shown) says a $244 million cut equates to about 5,000 teacher salaries, although he acknowledged it's likely that fewer than 5,000 teachers will lose their jobs.

Taylor says on average, teacher salaries make up about 85 percent of a local district's budget.

(Oklahoma City, OK) - The pace of budget talks is picking up at the state capitol. Lawmakers are in the process of deciding where to cut most since they have $1.2 billion less to work with for the fiscal 2011 budget.

State Senate President Pro Tem Glenn Coffee says transportation remains one of his priorities. Coffee says he wants to make sure the Oklahoma Department of Transportation's eight year plan isn't hurt too much.

Coffee says subcommittees are now hearing from different agencies and being told what a 10, 15 and 20 percent cut would force them to do.

Education officials are telling lawmakers a ten percent cut would mean massive teacher layoffs and larger class sizes.

JENKS, Okla. (AP) - High school students attending a prom in Jenks say they watched as a repo man drove away a limousine that had been rented for the special occasion. At least one teenager thought at first that the stretched-out vehicle was being car-jacked.

The owner of the limousine-rental company says it was all a matter of failure to communicate.

Landon Wiland said he and friends had rented a limo from Galaxy Limos for Friday night's prom at the Oklahoma Aquarium in Jenks, a Tulsa suburb. Wiland recalled that they had gotten out of the car when it was driven away. He said he thought the limo was being car-jacked.

Galaxy Limo owner Jim Nicolotti said the incident stemmed from miscommunication between his lender and the repossession company. He said he and his bank had worked out their issues, but the bank did not tell the repo company to cancel the job. Nicolotti said he would offer a partial refund or a free future rental to those affected.

OKLAHOMA CITY, Ok. - A Tulsa lawmaker wants to give school districts the option to make money by selling advertising on school buses. Representative Seneca Scott says districts across Oklahoma are searching for ways to save money and increase revenue. Representative Joe Dorman says, "With the revenue we're facing right now and the inevitable downturn, this is going to be a way for the local school districts to generate some much needed revenue." If Scott's amendment to Senate Bill 421 passes, each school district would need to set up an advertising review board to oversee the content of the ads and keep track of the ads' effectiveness. The district would be required to give preference to ads for products manufactured or processed in Oklahoma.

BROKEN ARROW, Ok. - Teachers in a Green Country school district learn their jobs are in jeopardy. Broken Arrow Public Schools sent notices to 140 first-year teachers that their jobs next year are not guaranteed and the district may not be able to re-hire them. All of these teachers are on temporary one-year contracts. The district says they won't know how many teachers they can afford to hire back until state lawmakers take action on the budget.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Oklahoma high school students would be required to take four years of mathematics before graduating high school under a bill approved in the Oklahoma Senate.

The bill by Sen. James Halligan increases the requirement from three to four years of math. An amendment was added that would add a requirement for an additional year of government history and civics.

Halligan, the former president of Oklahoma State University, says students are graduating from high school unprepared for college or the work force because of a lack of math skills.

The bill drew heated debate from opponents who argued the increased math requirement would be an obstacle for students with no plans to attend college.

The measure passed 33-13 and now heads to the House.

SKIATOOK, Ok. - A courtroom may be the next stop for Skiatook parents and taxpayers after an audit shows apparent malfeasance in the school district's purchasing department. At a school board meeting Tuesday night Skiatook School Superintendent Doctor Gary Johnson was suspended and now some parents, including Rhonda Eller, say something criminal might have taken place after an audit showed Skiatook schools paid super-high prices for custodial supplies and security equipment. Eller says, "That's a lot of money and I think, yes, where there's smoke there's fire in this situation." Eller and others meeting last night in the Skiatook community gym want to petition a Tulsa County judge for a grand jury investigation of the school district.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - A new report from the state Department of Education says the growth rate in student poverty is more than double what it has been in previous years.

The findings are in the agency's 2009-2010 Low Income Report released Monday. State Schools Superintendent Sandy Garrett says officials had expected an increase in student poverty due to the slumping economy.

Student poverty has been growing at a rate of 1 percent or less in recent years. The report says the poverty rate among public school students is now almost 59 percent, up by more than 2 percent from last year's rate of about 56 percent.

The report says nearly 322,000 public school students, or 49 percent of Oklahoma's students, are eligible to receive free school meals.

TULSA, Okla. (AP) - Oral Roberts University officials say they are cutting about 50 staff positions.

ORU President Mark Rutledge said in a statement Monday the cuts will bring the evangelical school closer to staffing levels at similar institutions of higher education and will help achieve a balanced budget.

The statement says employees whose positions are affected will be relieved of their duties, but they will continue to receive their salaries and benefits for 60 days. The statement says no current faculty positions will be affected.

The cuts come after 124 people were laid off in October when the school outsourced those positions in facilities management, mail and copy services. In January 2009, ORU laid off 53 employees and eliminated 40 vacant positions.

Before the latest layoffs, ORU had about 700 full-time employees.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - High schools across the state could begin offering an elective course in the study of the Bible under a measure approved by a Senate committee.

The Appropriations Subcommittee on Education on Wednesday passed the bill. It now goes to the full Appropriations Committee.

Elk City Democrat Tom Ivester says schools in Oklahoma already are offering similar courses _ but says his measure would provide guidelines to ensure the classes are focusing on the historical context of scripture.

The head of Americans United for the Separation of Church and State says he sees some merit to the idea, but only if teachers are trained to teach the course objectively. Mike Fuller says his group's concern is about the possibility of teachers endorsing religion.

TULSA, Ok. - More furloughs could be ahead after the Tulsa School Board votes today. Tulsa Public Schools is considering furlough days for principals and assistant principals which district leaders say could save another $120,000 for the budget. The dispute with the school support workers union is at an impasse. The union tried to get a 28-cent raise from TPS last month claiming there was a handwritten agreement saying so. But the district says there is no such agreement and now the next stop will be in court.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Oklahoma teachers say schools have been hit with a ``double whammy'' this year, with standards on state tests raised when additional resources for education weren't available.

Last July, the state Board of Education voted to make it harder for students to achieve proficiency on the math and reading tests taken by all third- through eighth-graders. On average, roughly 20 percent fewer students received proficient scores on the Oklahoma Core Curriculum Test this school year because of the changes.

This year, the test scores could affect whether a school makes progress as required by the state.

TULSA, Ok. - A union accuses Tulsa Public Schools of refusing a 28-cent raise for some of its lowest paid employees. Superintendent Keith Ballard says a handwritten note is what a support worker's union representative is calling a tentative agreement. Ballard says, "We left the table last time fully anticipating we would come back and talk about this." He says the district offered a two-percent raise that will cost the district about a quarter-million dollars more. He says the workers would actually make less under the union's plan and "we want to resolve this. We do. We have, and by we, I mean me and the board. We have great respect for support personnel." Union officials say no-comment until they can review a packet of information the district released yesterday.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - More than two dozen Oklahoma school districts have told the state they can't balance their budgets after state funding for public schools was cut by 10 percent this month.

At least four districts have shifted to four-day weeks to shave costs.

The budget cut isn't the only pressure on the districts. The state normally offsets increases in health insurance costs. But the state has included no such provision this year.

Tulsa is among districts looking at personnel cuts. Official say as many as 100 Tulsa schools positions may be eliminated started in July.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - State education officials say Oklahoma's schools have suffered $43 million in funding cuts during this fiscal year, and some are in danger of closing down or being merged into a neighboring district.

The financial picture could worsen. The state's assistant superintendent for financial services says legislators didn't adequately fund health insurance plans and other benefits for school employees. The state Education Board on Thursday requested more than $21 million in supplemental funding for the insurance shortfall.

Led by Tim Gilpin of Tulsa, board members also renewed their call for an immediate special session of the Legislature to address shortfalls in the state's $2.5 billion education budget.

Plunging revenues recently led officials to order 10 percent budget cuts across state government.

TULSA, Okla. (AP) - Televangelist Oral Roberts has been hospitalized after falling during the weekend.

A statement released Monday says Roberts fell on Saturday and is being treated for broken bones and a slight case of pneumonia. It says he's listed in stable condition at a hospital near his home in California.

The 91-year-old Roberts founded Oral Roberts University in Tulsa in 1963. He returned to the campus in September to help inaugurate the university's third president, nearly two years after his son, Richard, resigned the same post amid a financial scandal that tarnished the evangelical school's reputation.

Richard Roberts and his wife have denied accusations that they spent university money on vacations, home remodels and other luxuries at a time ORU was $55 million in the red.

STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) - Oklahoma State University police say information accusing a student of blackmailing another to get her notes on a class that both were taking has been turned over to the Payne County district attorney's office.

OSU Police Capt. David Altman said Monday that 18-year-old student Caroline Randal reported to OSU police on Dec. 7 that another student had threatened to place erroneous information about her on various social-networking Web sites unless she gave him her class notes.

Police say the suspect asked Randal for her class notes from an introduction to theater class, which had its final exam last Wednesday. Altman says Randal refused to give the student the notes because she felt he had been irresponsible by not taking notes in class himself.

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. (AP) - Officials at Northeastern State University say the school has received its first-ever $1 million donation.

Gregg Wadley and Dr. Betsy Brackett donated the money to honor Wadley's mother, who died four years ago.

NSU officials say the money will create a reading clinic on the Tahlequah campus to help children overcome reading deficiencies and help teachers learn how to work with them.

EDMOND, Okla. (AP) - Oklahoma's chancellor for higher education is not ruling out tuition hikes at the state's 25 public colleges and universities next year.

But Chancellor Glen Johnson said Thursday it is too early in the budgeting process to know if the state's Board of Regents will need to consider tuition hikes to meet higher education's funding needs.

The regents promised last year not to raise tuition and fees if the Legislature authorized funding for operational needs and fuel, energy and retirements.

The Legislature appropriated $30.67 million and tuition was frozen. But Johnson says regents are not pledging to freeze tuition again this year.

Regents are seeking a $27.5 million increase over last year's budget and another $35.8 million to make up for budget cuts.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Oklahoma's public schools have almost 10,000 more students this year than they did in 2008.

Preliminary enrollment figures were presented to the State Board of Education Thursday. They show that pre-Kindergarten through 12th grade enrollment climbed by 9,734 students from last year.

A total of 654,511 students are now enrolled in Oklahoma public schools, compared with 644,754 students last year.

Figures also show that the Oklahoma City school district, with 42,570 students, is now the state's largest, surpassing Tulsa's 41,493 students.

State Superintendent Sandy Garrett says Hispanic students are contributing to most of the statewide growth. Their numbers have climbed by more than 5,500 since last year.

There are 73,172 Hispanic students in Oklahoma's public schools.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan is praising Oklahoma as a national leader in efforts to improve early childhood education.

Duncan visited the state on Thursday, spending time at an education center for disadvantaged preschool children in south Oklahoma City.

Duncan toured the facility that serves about 200 students with Gov. Brad Henry and other education leaders.

He said facilities like the Oklahoma City Educare Center are key to reducing high school dropout rates and ultimately producing more college graduates.

After the tour, Duncan planned to host a town-hall-style meeting at the Oklahoma History Center to discuss educational issues with the public.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Sandy Garrett says she will not seek another term as state superintendent of public instruction.

Garrett is serving her five consecutive term in the post.

She said she wanted to make her announcement early enough for other qualified candidates to have time to consider running for the position in the 2010 elections.

The state superintendent serves as the chief executive for the state Department of Education, chairs the state Board of Education and the state Board of Career and Technology Education and is a regent for the state's Regional University System.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - State and local education officials in Oklahoma preparing for the upcoming school year received a most unwelcome back-to-school present with word of a state revenue shortfall.

State financial officials on Tuesday ordered a 5 percent across-the-board cut in budget allocations to state agencies, which education officials warn could have both short-term and long-term effects.

Both Oklahoma State University and the University of Oklahoma say they anticipated a shortfall could occur and made contingency plans that should spare students and faculty for the time being. But officials at both universities say if the shortfalls become larger in future months, it could lead to ``disruptive'' cuts.

Meanwhile, the state Department of Education spent Wednesday recalculating monthly payments to the state's more than 500 school districts.

TULSA, Okla. (AP) - A Tulsa business executive and a vice chancellor at the University of Kansas are the two finalists for the job as the president of Oklahoma State University's Tulsa campus.

A search committee named Howard Barnett and Robert Clark from more than 80 applicants as the finalists on Wednesday. Both men will visit the campus later this month to meet with students, faculty, staff and community members.

Barnett formerly served as the chief of staff for former Gov. Frank Keating and as Keating's commerce secretary. He now is the managing director of TSF Capital in Tulsa.

Clark is vice chancellor and dean of the KU Edwards Campus in Overland Park, Kan. Enrollment has increased 55 percent at the campus during his tenure.

The new president will replace Gary Trennepohl( shown), who said in March he would step down after 10 years and return to a full-time OSU faculty position.

TULSA, Okla. (AP) - A $30 million public-private partnership in Tulsa will result in the construction of three early childhood learning centers that will provide early care and education for 600 at-risk infants and toddlers.

The George Kaiser Family Foundation announced Thursday it will match $15 million of federal education stimulus-grant money approved for the projects.

Tulsa Public Schools will allocate $2 million for operating funds.

Foundation Executive Director Ken Levit says investment in early childhood education helps prepare children for school and avoid remediation in later school years.

The federal money comes from $100 million in stimulus money designated for an education fund allocated at the governor's discretion.

TULSA, Ok. - Tulsa Public Schools hopes to find favor in the form of a $55-million grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. TPS Superintendent Dr. Keith Ballard says they're asking for the money that would put an effective teacher in every single classroom. Ballard says, "I'm very excited about it. I think it's as monumental as anything I've been a part of in my entire career." He says a big part of the plan to raise teacher effectiveness is to raise their salaries. Ballard says teacher pay currently is based on advanced degrees and experience. TPS wants to replace that with pay for performance in the classroom.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - A report by the U.S. Census Bureau says Oklahoma spends more money per public school student than only four other states.

The figures released Monday show Oklahoma spent $7,420 per pupil during the 2006-2007 academic year to rank fifth-lowest in the nation.

The Oklahoman reported from its Washington bureau that only Arizona, Tennessee, Idaho and Utah spent less per student.

Oklahoma public schools had nearly $5.5 billion in revenue in the 2006-2007 school year. About $2.8 billion came from the state, $2 billion from local governments and nearly $651 million from the federal government.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Oklahoma could be facing a shortage of teachers in the future as the number of retiring educators exceeds the amount coming into the profession.

A National Commission on Teaching and America's Future report recently warned that as baby boomers reach retirement age, states will lose large numbers of teachers. The retirements are expected to peak in the 2010-2011 school year.

The average retirement age is 59. The reports says in Oklahoma, 46 percent of teachers are age 50 or older.

Sharron Coffman of the Oklahoma Teachers' Retirement System says this month, 1,085 teachers retired. Coffman says June usually has the highest number of retirements, but the number normally is closer to 800.

Meanwhile, according to the State Regents for Higher Education, admissions to teacher education programs at state universities fell about 24 percent between 1998 and 2008.

In 1998, 2,590 people entered the programs, compared with 1,974 last year.

Some of that has been offset by alternative certifications.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ Oklahoma's high school graduation rate fell slightly from 2005 to 2006 but remains ahead of the national average.

The 2009 ``Diplomas Count'' report released today shows nearly 71 percent of public high school students graduated in Oklahoma in 2006 _ the most recent year in which data is available.

That compares to about 69 percent nationally.

Oklahoma's graduation rate ranks 30th among the 50 states with New Jersey at the top of the list with an 82 percent graduation rate. Nevada ranked last with a graduation rate of 47 percent.

Oklahoma's graduation rate also increased by 3.6 percent from 1996 to 2006 while the national rate rose by 2.8 percent during the same time period.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ The state Board of Education is urging schools to exceed the minimum number of class hours that would be permitted in a new state law.

The board adopted a resolution Thursday urging districts to give students more than 1,050 hours of class time in a school year.

House Bill 1864 calls for 1,080 hours in a school year, but that includes five six-hour professional days, cutting instructional hours to 1,050.

The new law allows schools to have longer school days, thus trimming the traditional 175-day school calendar.

In the past, the board and state School Superintendent Sandy Garrett have advocated increasing the number of days students go to school.

BROKEN ARROW, Okla. (AP) - Administrators of a private high school say plummeting enrollment caused by the economic slowdown has led to their decision to close its doors.

Grace Christian High School had 100 students enrolled this past year, but Superintendent Ken Stewart says that only 48 students had enrolled by the end of March for the upcoming school year.

Stewart says many students couldn't afford the tuition payments, which had not been a problem in previous years.

Grace Church pastor Bob Yandian says the decision was tough because many of the high school students had attended Grace Christian since their elementary years.

About 19 employees have been let go because of the high school's closure.

The school will continue to have classes for students in kindergarten through eighth grade.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Charter-school proponents say the Tulsa school board's decision not to continue pursuing a lawsuit over the Oklahoma Charter Schools Act removes a barrier to the continued growth of such schools.

The Tulsa board voted 6-to-0 Monday to not appeal to the state Supreme Court a ruling last month by Oklahoma County District Judge Carolyn Ricks that the law was constitutional.

The Tulsa district had filed the lawsuit in December 2007, saying the law violated the state Constitution's provision against ``local'' or ``special'' laws.

The law requires only districts with 5,000 or more students in counties with a population of 500,000 or more to consider applications for charter schools. Only Oklahoma and Tulsa counties fit that criteria.

The state now has 15 charter schools with a combined enrollment of about 5,400 students.

TULSA, Okla. (AP) - The president of Oklahoma State University-Tulsa says he's planning to step down from the position he's held for 10 years.

Gary Trennepohl announced yesterday he plans to return to a full-time faculty position at OSU.

Trennepohl became president of the newly designated OSU-Tulsa campus in August 1999.

He says after ten years at the post, it's time for new leadership with fresh ideas and perspectives.

Trennepohl is a professor of finance at OSU who holds the President's Council endowed chair.

He teaches courses in investment management or derivatives each year at OSU-Tulsa.

OWASSO, Okla. (AP) - The Owasso School Board has accepted the resignation of a high school choir teacher charged with sexual battery of a student.

Assistant Superintendent Lynn Johnson says the board accepted the resignation of 39-year-old Doug Woolery (shown) at its meeting Monday night.

Woolery had managed the school's Performing Arts Center and taught choir and stagecraft.

He was charged Feb. 24 in Tulsa County District Court with fondling a male high school student twice in an eight-day period during music conventions last year.

Woolery had been suspended with pay Feb. 10, the same day the victim reported the allegations.

TULSA, Okla. (AP) - The University of Tulsa is slashing overtime hours, slowing hiring and postponing merit salary increases in an attempt to offset losses from a plummeting endowment fund.

President Steadman Upham says staff members and administrators also will not be paid for summer half-days on Fridays in June and July.

The worst could be yet to come.

Upham says earnings on the endowment are drawn on a 12-quarter rolling average, so market fluctuations aren't immediately felt.

If the downward trend continues, he says TU could face a $15 million budget reduction in fiscal year 2012.

Upham says the cost-saving moves now are intended to offset such a loss in the coming years.

TULSA, Okla. (AP) - A published report says more than 1,000 dropouts in Oklahoma aren't being reported by the state Department of Education because of the way the agency defines its dropout rate.

According to the Tulsa World's analysis of Education Department data, although the department counts each dropout, it doesn't include all of them when calculating a school's dropout rate if the student hasn't reached the ninth grade or is 19 years or older.

As a result, more than 1,030 dropouts in Oklahoma were left out of the 2006-07 dropout rate calculations.

Education Department spokeswoman Shelly Hickman says the education department follows state and federal regulations regarding its dropout rate calculations.

She says middle school children are not able to drop out and that if they are not attending school, they are considered truants.

But thousands of middle school students do drop out each year and many states include them in their calculations.

TULSA, Okla. (AP) - Oral Roberts University has a new president.

Mark Rutland, the president of Southeastern University in Florida, is taking over at the Tulsa-based evangelical school more than a year after its former leader was forced to resign amid a spending scandal.

Rutland was named to the job Wednesday after a unanimous vote of the ORU Board of Trustees.

He succeeds televangelist and former school president Richard Roberts, who stepped down in late 2007 amid allegations he and his wife, Lindsay, spent school money to live in luxury _ claims which he denies.

Rutland has led Southeastern, a Christian liberal-arts college in Lakeland, Fla., for 10 years, helping move the school off shaky financial ground and growing the student body from 1,000 to more than 3,000 students.

She is surprised at the recommendation to eliminate two alternative programs at Bell Elementary and Anderson Elementary. The audit findings will be discussed at Monday's board meeting.

TULSA, Okla. (AP) - State education officials say Tulsa Public Schools may have to compensate special education students who didn't receive services they were entitled to at the troubled Tulsa Academic Center.

The state Department of Education has told school officials that the district violated a host of requirements in the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

The Tulsa district now has a series of deadlines over the next two months to respond to the state's findings and to develop plans for improving services, documentation and discipline procedures for all special education students.

In mid-March, the Tulsa World began a series of stories documenting teacher, parent and student accounts of overcrowding and frequent violence at the alternative school.

Districts are cutting back on school bus routes and now a state education leader can see a time when some districts park the big yellow buses.  "It could be that buses will not run in some district because even though we know the price of diesel today- we don't know the price in December," says State Superintendent of Education Sandy Garrett.  She says fuel costs may keep the big yellow buses parked.  She adds already the state expects to pay 58-million more in fuel costs not to mention increases in food and electricity costs.  Garrett says, "I have some really some grave concerns that schools will close and some services not rendered."  She believes a supplemental appropriation is the only solution to the budget situation but realizes the additional money is not a done deal with the legislature because costs are going up for all state agencies not just the Department of Education.  Tulsa Public Schools restructed its school bus routes this week so that students that live within two miles of their school can no longer ride the bus and instead must walk to school.

(Oklahoma City, OK) -- State School Superintendent Sandy Garrett is challenging Oklahoma educators. During her annual State of Education address, Garrett said we must be ready to change.  She says we need to address the real learning styles of students or we risk having schools that are both ineffective and irrelevant.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - A new study indicates that Oklahoma is making progress in reading and math achievement in grade schools but needs to increase its number of college graduates.

State Education Department spokeswoman Shelly Hickman says the report by the Southern Regional Education Board is a compilation of previously reported education statistics about Oklahoma.

The report notes that Oklahoma's six-year graduation rate for first-time freshmen who entered a public four-year school in the fall of 2000 was 48 percent, compared to the national average of 55 percent.

Houston Davis is the associate vice chancellor for academic affairs for the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education. Davis says more recent numbers show an improvement in the number of college graduates in the state.

The report also notes that Oklahoma's college enrollment rate of recent high school graduates improved from 50 percent in 1994 to 52 percent in 2004. Nationally, the rate dropped from 63 percent to 56 percent.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - A study led by a Georgetown University professor says 4-year-olds in Oklahoma's pre-kindergarten program are outperforming 4-year-olds in a similar federal program.

Professor William Gormley and his colleagues tested about 3,500 incoming kindergartners in Tulsa Public Schools and children entering Tulsa's pre-K program.

They also tested those entering the federal Head Start program.

Gormley says Tulsa's pre-K program increases pre-reading skills by 9 months, pre-writing skills by 7 months and pre-math skills by 5 months.

He says the study found Head Start improves pre-reading skills by 6 months, pre-writing skills by 3 months and pre-math skills by the same 5 months as the state program.

Oklahoma's pre-K program was established statewide in 1998 and Gormley calls it a ``beacon'' for those who support early childhood education programs.