The National Education Goals Panel justly recognized Maine’s commendable performances in kindergarten to grade 12 last week in Washington. Without taking away from the high performance by Maine students, the question remains, however, of why relatively few of these high performers continue with their education in college.

Maine not only ranks among the very best states for academic performance, its graduation rate also is tops. But the percentage of high-school students who go on to college is middling or worse. The problem is complex, but at least one area is obvious: Mainers on average earn less than their national peers and their state university system costs more. Two recent solutions could help reduce this portion of the problem.

The first is a better way to save for college through a Finance Authority of Maine (FAME) program. Just as smart investors are looking for end-of-the-year ways to reduce their tax burden, now is a good time for parents and others interested in helping students pay for college to open accounts called NextGen. Developed by Merrill Lynch, NextGen is an investment account keyed to the age of the student — generally more aggressive in a child’s early years and more conservative as he or she approaches graduation from high school. The account is state tax-free and federally tax-deferred, and the federal taxes are based on the income of the beneficiary – the impoverished – and not the benefactor.

Anyone may contribute to the account, and as investment advisor Jane M. Deighan wrote Saturday on the OpEd Page, while a beneficiary must be named at when an account is opened, it can be changed to another sibling, parent, child aunt or uncle. And if the person opening the account is someone other than the beneficiary’s parent, the program will not be considered when determining eligibility for financial aid.

That’s a great way to get started saving for college.

The second opportunity is up to the Legislature. Several proposals to create substantial public-private scholarship funds have been considered in recent years, but lawmakers have yet to agree to the level of funding that would make a real difference in the lives of students statewide. The current $250 million surplus suggests that this is the year to make that one-time investment.

Such a scholarship would match state dollars with contributions from private donors, building a fund that would provide tuition dollars that would follow students whether they attend the state university system, private schools in Maine or go out of state. Similar programs have worked well in other states and could work here, as well.

Precisely why more Mainers do not attend college is a question worth further study. But it is safe to assume that a lack of funding is at least part of the reason, so while Maine is studying its students it could also be helping its students study in college. And perhaps Maine’s outstanding K-12 performance could be continued beyond high school.