Business & Education

Federal education officials say Alabama has a high school graduation rate of 72 percent among all students, ranking it behind neighboring Tennessee and Mississippi, but ahead of Georgia and Florida.

The U.S. Department of Education released the data this week. It details four-year high school graduation rates in 2010-11 - the first year for which all states used a common, rigorous measure.

Federal officials say varying methods of graduation rates states used previously were unreliable for state-by-state comparisons.

The Alabama State University Board of Trustees voted Monday to place the school's new president on paid administrative leave.

The Montgomery Advertiser reports the panel recommended that Joseph Silver be placed on leave immediately. The circumstances that led to their decision were not immediately clear.

The full board will meet Thursday at 1 p.m. to consider the recommendation while Silver is on leave.

Raytheon Co. has opened a missile production facility in Huntsville that is expected to initially create 35 new jobs.

Company officials said the new facility at Huntsville's Redstone Arsenal would eventually create 300 jobs with a combination of factory workers and other positions.

Raytheon President Taylor W. Lawrence said the factory will be the most advanced missile integration facility in the world.

Company officials said at the factory workers will complete assembly and testing of the company's missiles and interceptors.

Alabama is changing the way it assesses students in physical education classes in public schools.

The state Department of Education says every Alabama student enrolled in physical education classes in grades 2-12 will participate in the new Alabama Physical Fitness Assessment. It replaces the President's Challenge Fitness Test, which was adopted nearly 30 years ago.

The new assessment focuses on health-related fitness. It measures aerobic cardiovascular endurance, muscular strength and endurance, abdominal strength and endurance, and flexibility.

Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley and other leaders are heading to Europe to promote Alabama at an aviation gathering.

The officials will attend the Aviation Forum 2012 for a special panel presentation about Airbus' decision to build aircraft in Mobile.

WKRG-TV (http://bit.ly/UyzeL2) reports the two-day gathering will be held in Hamburg, Germany, starting Tuesday.

More than 140 high schools in Alabama are partnering with Microsoft to add business software programs to their curriculum.

The Montgomery Advertiser (http://on.mgmadv.com/Tb0HkP ) reports that Alabama will become the 10th state to use Office software in a partnership with the company.

Gov. Robert Bentley made the announcement Tuesday at the Autauga County Technology Center in Prattville.

Bentley says technology partnerships with 143 schools in the state are essential as industries become increasingly tech-driven.