A national report issued last week said that in 1996, Missouri students scored above the national average on the American College Test. Missouri's high school seniors averaged a composite score of 21.4 on the ACT, compared with 20.9 nationwide. At Southeast Missouri State University, the scores are better still. Entering freshmen at Southeast this year average just over 23. That's up from a 22.6 last for year's freshmen at Southeast.

This is indeed encouraging news on the education front. Our hat is off to the hardworking educators who are making it happen and to the students who are earning these scores. It will be fascinating to watch whether this one-year result is replicated in subsequent years, as Missouri's reforms proceed apace. This is especially true since Missouri's commissioner of higher education, former Southeast Missouri State University president Kala Stroup, attributes the rise to more students' taking a core curriculum of challenging courses: Four years of English and three years each of math, social studies and natural science. Missourians will be watching closely to see whether subsequent years produce results this impressive.