Maine leads the nation in the percentage of students who finish high school, according to new statistics from the Department of Education.

At 94.5 percent, Maine had the nation’s highest high school completion rate for 18-to-24-year-olds from 1998 to 2000. North Dakota came in second with 94.4 percent. Arizona had the lowest rate, 73.5 percent.

Of the five other New England states, Connecticut had the second-highest rate, 91.7 percent. Massachusetts’ rate was 90.9 percent, Vermont’s was 90.8 percent and Rhode Island’s was 87.9 percent. New Hampshire had the lowest rate, 85.1 percent.

Nationwide, minority students’ completion rates have risen, too, but have lagged behind that of white students, whose 2000 rate was 91.8 percent. The rate for black students was 83.7 percent; for Hispanic students the rate was 64.1 percent.

The statistic measures the percentage of 18-to-24-year-olds that have graduated from high school or earned a GED. Compiled as part of the U.S. Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey each October, it is considered one important measure of national dropout figures.

Education officials in Maine were elated by the news of how well the state was doing.

“A lot has to do with the fact Maine has small schools, small class sizes, and experienced teachers,” said Yellow Light Breen, spokesman for the state Department of Education. “These lead to much greater personalization of learning. Smaller schools and class sizes are better able to adapt what they’re doing to meet the needs of students.”

Breen disagreed with some claims that Maine’s dearth of minority students is mainly responsible for its strong showing.

“It’s a little unfair to imply that Maine only does well because of its unique demographics, because we have very challenging demographics as well,” said Breen, pointing to the state’s high rate of poverty.

“When you look at the subgroups in Maine, including those who are economically challenged, even those students do quite well,” he said.

But the good news is tempered by other statistics showing that only 52 percent of students in Maine enroll in college.

There’s a disconnection somewhere, the state’s education experts said Thursday. Students need more accessible and more affordable post-secondary education. Heightening students’ aspirations also would go a long way in solving the problem, they said.

Meanwhile, a Blue Ribbon Commission on Postsecondary Educational Attainment is working on a plan to encourage more high school students to obtain associate or graduate degrees. The group, which includes legislators, educators and economic experts, plans to issue a final report within the next few weeks.

John Fitzsimmons, president of the Maine Technical College System and a member of the Blue Ribbon Commission, said Maine’s high graduation rates are likely due to the variety of alternative education programs which help keep more students in school.

Those alternative programs may be helping more Maine students finish high school, he said, but they are also creating a whole new group of students who never thought of college as an option before.

Using the same approach with them as we have with the core of students who always planned to continue their education doesn’t work, Fitzsimmons said.

“This new group of kids sees the world slightly differently. Their horizon is much shorter and the thought of going through four years of college seems distant for them.”

The associate of arts degree program offered at the state’s technical schools could attract students who may be undecided about their future, Fitzsimmons said.

Students who complete the two-year program can transfer their credits either to a traditional four-year liberal arts college or to the technical college’s occupational program.

Meanwhile they will have gotten a taste of higher education and what it can do for them personally and economically, he said.

The University of Maine system’s 10 university colleges across the state fit the bill for non-traditional students who never saw themselves as college material, said UMS Vice Chancellor Charles Lyons.

“If we can provide easy access close to home and an affordable college education, we think they’ll come,” said Lyons who directs the state’s University College program and is a member of the Blue Ribbon Commission.

Culture also plays a role in dissuading kids from continuing their education beyond high school, said Susan Tuthill, director of the Waterville High School Guidance Department and a member of the Blue Ribbon Commission.

She has heard from guidance counselors in other parts of the state that they “constantly are fighting families” who want their kids to make a living lumbering or fishing the way they did.

“If it’s good enough for me, it’s good enough for you,” is the attitude, she said.

Still, most parents would like to see their kids go on to college, but often don’t know how to help them. Some barriers could be easily surmounted.

“We could increase the numbers going on to college if we had more staff to do [parents’] financial aid statements for them,” Tuthill said.

Young people need to know early on about their options and ways to access scholarships and work-study programs, said Pam Flood of UM’s National Center for Student Aspirations.

“We need to have young people dreaming about college in middle school … and envisioning a future for themselves,” she said.