Set Our Teachers FREE!

Disagreement Over Drop-Out Rates Among Educators

I’m still feeling very poorly, but today’s topic got me so riled-up that I simply HAD to write a short post. Another school year is over. Nothing is getting straightened out in our schools and now, instead of concentrating on fixing the problems, educator groups are now arguing over who has the drop out rates right.

In an article in Education News, Martin B. Solomon, PhD has written an article saying that graduation rates aren’t as low as being claimed by EdWeek.org, and others. He claims their testing criteria are inaccurate and don’t account for students moving out of any particular school and so forth.

I wish I had more energy, to really counteract his claims one by one. Perhaps when I feel a little better.

In the meantime, just let me say that he concludes by saying that New York’s graduation rates are much higher than claimed. He also actually claims that USA graduation rates are closer to 92% for whites, when you disallow the statistics for poor children, children with family or financial problems, etc.

There also is a general misunderstanding about the reasons for dropouts.It is questionable as to how high graduation rates can possibly be as long as so much poverty exists.When the causes of dropouts are examined, the vast majority are likely caused by societal factors, outside the control of the schools and closely correlated with poverty.These include family financial problems requiring a kid to drop out and work full time, pregnancy, incarceration, drugs, gangs, unwillingness to exert the necessary effort and, in spite of heroic efforts by teachers, some students get so far behind in schoolwork that they have no hope of catching up and drop out.Some dropouts are surely caused by poor teaching and boring classes.But preliminary research seems to show that this is not a major factor.Therefore, one must ask the question, how high can the graduation rates ever become?

Dr. Solomon seems to think that everyone bemoaning the failures of our schools is unaware of societal issues impacting on education. Nothing could be further from the truth. In “Set Our Teachers FREE! A Plan to Save Public Education”, Don Kingsland points out how much those same social problems listed by Dr. Solomon are having such an effect on our schools. BUT, Don (a Master Teacher) offers a WORKABLE SOLUTION, not just a condemnation of other’s claims.

I guess feeling poorly has made me somewhat less patient with idiocy. A 92% graduation rate claim is so over-the-top that I was sputtering. Of course, in Dr. Solomon’s defense, that statistic is allegedly among white students who have no social, economic, or emotional issues to contend with. And I suspect that an overwhelming preponderance of the school-age population is NOT blessed with that particular cocoon.

I also take issue with the claims that New York’s graduation rates are higher than claimed. Malarcky!

I’ve already posted numerous articles about the INCREDIBLY LOW requirements for graduation in NY. Students are being graduated just for attending class, whether they take tests, or do assignments, or not. In fact, those standards have been published in national newspapers and across the internet numerous times.

What good is a 92% graduation rate, when that only includes such a TINY minority of the population? And what good is a diploma when there are NO requirements for getting it?

Finally, even if our graduation rates weren’t so dismal nationally, what good is that diploma when so many of those graduates still can’t read or perform basic math?

We need to stop wasting time and energy making elitist claims and START FIXING THE PROBLEMS!

Brennan

The Kingsland Plan

Save Our Schools

Filed under: Education News