Arizona schools don't deserve this headline

Please say you cringed at this headline: "Arizona's college graduation rate is lowest in the nation."

You know the story line (repeat it with me): Arizona is a cesspool of education mediocrity, a place where dumb people go to pretend like they're smart. Witness the jokes "Ted 2" made at Arizona State University's expense. And the Simpsons. And "Dumb and Dumber To."

Sadly, headlines like the one above only strengthen that perception.

Data from the U.S. Department of Education seem to paint a grim picture: A larger percentage of students are dropping out without a degree and defaulting on student loans than the national average.

But keep reading: The state's three non-profit universities actually have higher graduation rates and lower default rates than the national average. The same is true for the for-profit Grand Canyon University. And those rates are continuing to improve with time.

The problem is Arizona's other for-profit universities. Mostly, that would be the University of Phoenix, which even after losing half its enrollment in recent years still boasts more than 200,000 students, many of which don't live here. The school's graduation and loan-default rates are so low (and high) that they're throwing off the state average.

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In other words, the innovative work most Arizona schools are doing to produce graduates without dooming them to the poor house is being dragged down by one big school that doesn't necessarily serve people who live here.

That's not fair.

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