Question

in his recent state of the union address, president obama called on states to require students to stay in school until age 18 or graduation. “when students don’t walk away from their education, more of them walk the stage to get their diploma,” the president pointed out. this is the first time a president has weighed in on an issue that individual states are struggling to solve on their own and in their own ways. in general, the legal age for exiting school pre - graduation has been getting higher over the years. it is now age 18 in states plus the district of columbia, and age 17 in 11 other states. raising the age for exiting pre - graduation may not stop all dropouts, but it has a positive effect, according to new hampshire deputy commissioner of education, paul leather. “what it does is it sets the moral imperative so that students, to the idea that each student will in fact graduate,” leather says. recently, new hampshire raised the minimum age for exiting pre - graduation to 18. “what we found both in national and international research is that when you raise the compulsory age of education, the graduation and retention rates will in fact increase,” he says. since the federal government covers only around 10 percent of education financing, it is unlikely to be able to force states to adopt a uniform age for exiting pre - graduation. however, for states wanting to receive special “race to the top” education grants, a higher pre - graduation exit age could be a requirement. the federal government may not be able to dictate individual state policy, but it can give states a strong incentive to make sure more students graduate. 6. how does the context of president obama’s state of the union address shape the article? it shows that the issue is only important to a small group of educators it demonstrates that the proposal carries national significance and political weight it indicates that the plan was created by individual states without federal input it suggests that the policy was already in effect in all 50 states

Explanation:

The State - of - the - Union address is a national platform. When President Obama weighs in on an issue, it gives the issue national significance and political weight. The article then discusses the implications and details related to this national - level mention.

Answer:

It demonstrates that the proposal carries national significance and political weight