Student, graduate numbers on the way up.

• Position: Increase in number of high school graduates - Statestats

The number of high school graduates will soar in the 21st century, according to a new demographic study by the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE).

After a 15-year decline, public and private high school graduates will number 3.3 million by 2008, a 32 percent increase over 1992. The late 1970s produced a record 2.8 million graduates, followed by a steady decline through the 1980s that bottomed out in the last few years.

Why this increase? Soaring birthrates. There were 36 percent more births in 1991 than in 1974.

This is dramatic news for the states, particularly the western ones. The Far West--Alaska, California, Hawaii, Nevada, Oregon and Washington--will lead the graduate growth with a 75.7 percent increase. Nevada's increase will be a staggering 198 percent, triple its present graduation rate. California, which this year cut K-12 spending by 16.2 percent, will...