Left Behind: A national disgrace...52% Graduation Rate

Almost like some sick joke, America's Promise Alliance, a foundation started by by Colin Powell in 1997, released a study of the high school graduation rates of our 50 most populous cities. ...Unfortunately, the report is no April Fools joke.

Cities in Crisis: A Special Analytic Report on High School Graduation- .pdf

Using data from the U.S. Department of Education’s Common Core of Data and the Cumulative Promotion Index (CPI) methodology, we calculated graduation rates for all school districts in the nation’s largest cities and their surrounding metropolitan areas. This analysis examines graduates from the 2003-04 school year. National and state results for the graduating class of 2004 were published in Diplomas Count 2007: Ready for What?, a special issue of Education Week (available online at link). District-level data on graduation rates as well as customized, downloadable reports for every school system in the country can be accessed using EdWeek Maps (link). This online data and mapping service also allows users to create and navigate local maps of graduation patterns anywhere in the country.

Our analysis finds that graduating from high school in the America’s largest cities amounts, essentially, to a coin toss. Only about one-half (52 percent) of students in the principal school systems of the 50 largest cities complete high school with a diploma. That rate is well below the national graduation rate of 70 percent, and even falls short of the average for urban districts across the country (60 percent). Only six of these 50 principal districts reach or exceed the national average. In the most extreme cases (Baltimore, Cleveland, Detroit, and Indianapolis), fewer than 35 percent of students graduate with a diploma.

Further analysis demonstrates that the extremely low graduation rates for these large school systems contribute disproportionately to the nation’s graduation crisis. The principal school districts of America’s 50 largest cities collectively educate 1.7 million public high school students – one out of every eight in the country. However, these 50 education agencies account for nearly one-quarter (23 percent) of the 1.2 million students nationwide who fail to graduate with a diploma each year.

More...

Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings, who attended a press conference organized by the APA, announced "It strikes me that today, on April Fool's Day, we have been fooling ourselves about the magnitude of the problem." (Link.)

Almost as an explanation for the surprise these numbers represent, Secretary Spellings announced a plan to eliminate the gaming of state graduation statistics that tend to hide the extent of the problem.

The days when a high school dropout could count as a graduate if he promised to return for his diploma sometime in the future may soon come to an end. So may the days when a student was considered a dropout only if she registered as one. These are two of the many ways in which some local and state agencies inflate graduation rates and deceive the public and federal authorities. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings says it's time to "end this dispute about what the right number is" and require all states to count high school graduates the same way.

The secretary's pledge to tackle inflated graduation rates comes on the heels of a new report that suggests the dropout problem has become a crisis in the nation's largest urban school systems.

And as if all of this was not bad enough, many of those who do graduate will likely have little chance of proceeding to college.

Federal Reserve Chairman, Ben Bernanke, presented his most grim assessment of the U.S. economy to the Joint Economic Committee on Wednesday morning...In the credit markets, Bernanke cited strains including corporate debt, municipal bonds, student loans and government-backed mortgages.

Link.

Look at these numbers.

The Salt Lake Tribune reported last week that Zions Bank was bailing out of the federal government's largest student loan program, joining 26 other lenders that have done the same since last fall. The number of financial institutions leaving the program is unprecedented, according to the report, representing as much as 30 percent of its total loan volume.

Link.

See also,

Leading loan lender suspends funding program for next year

MT senators call for action on student loans

The Basics of the Student Loan Mess

What a mess indeed.

:shk:

It's hard to see how we will pull out of this nose-dive.

What a shame...

[edit on 3-4-2008 by loam]

Great post loam...

It's hard to believe that just in the 20 years I have been out of school, it's gone this far down the tubes.

But it's no wonder with all the worrying about children's "self-esteem" some school districts don't even mark up their papers with a red pen anymore. Some are doing away with "grading" systems entirely.

How are these kids going to get into college if they have no grades to show for their school years? Oh yeah, that's right, well I guess only 52% of them have to even worry about that anyway.

If only 52% graduate now with a HS diploma, I wonder what percentage of those will even bother with college??

I talk to my friends all the time who are parents, and they say, "Well I have to go I have help my child with his/her homework" Which, this "help" goes on for hours. Kids don't even do their own homework anymore, if they even get any.

I have no idea how we will pull the school system out of the gutter. It's depressing for sure.

[edit on 3-4-2008 by LateApexer313]

reply to post by LateApexer313


Yes it is.

I too don't get the self-esteem movement. It has been taken way too far. Expectation of achievement does not equal abuse.

What a complete disaster. :shk:

The result of an ever expanding PC world.

And of course, Libs will try to fix it by throwing more money at it:

Socialism, of which liberal-progressivism is the American sect, is more than control of the economy. Most importantly it is mind-control through the public education system.

The Washington Times reports the latest liberal-progressive-socialist curtailment of personal freedom.

“California courts have held that under provisions in the Education Code, parents do not have a constitutional right to educate their children in their own home,” said the Feb. 28 ruling by the California Appellate Court for the second district.

The most important element of liberal-progressive-socialism, however, is control of the educational system.

link

Lets forget about being politically correct for a moment and lets get to the bottom of what segment of the population in these cities are graduating or not graduating.

How many Hispanics percentage wise in these cities in question are graduating and how many whites and blacks are also graduating percentage wise? These cities must turn it around or we lose our youth and country. We as a nation must let the adult teachers run the schools and not the students. It is called discipline that is right good old discipline if you have any age on yourself you will know I am right.

Parents either care or do not care about their children graduating. The parents who care I applaud you the parents who do not care I deplore you. The parents who care about their children graduating and meet with the teachers and make a effort to make sure their children do their home work and get to class should be rewarded by tax incentives.

The parents who do not care about their children graduating do not receive tax incentives. You say the poor will be disadvantaged because of these incentives and I say even if you are underprivileged the parents can still care about their children graduating.

At the beginning of the year have the parents of the students fill out a pledge card to be their for their children at school to have monthly or weekly meetings if needed with their teachers. If they fulfill their pledges the parents receive tax incentives.

Throw more money at the schools is that the answer? Wrong the more money we throw at the schools the worse they have become. Yes most teachers are under paid and the teachers should be graded on how they are doing in the class room and yes more incentives.

You keep letting the National Government run the schools instead of each city or community we will never get out of this mess we are in and if we turn the schools back to the cities and communities things would change drastically for the better.

No one has all the answers about the school systems throughout the country, but we had better start now before it is too late. The clock is ticking almost to the midnight hour tic tic tic tic tic toc. We are now at the beginning of becoming noncompetitive in the worldwide market place because of the dumbing down of America. Rik Riley










[edit on 3-4-2008 by rikriley]

reply to post by rikriley


Great point rikriley,

I wonder what the public school illegal immigrant percentage is in these cities as well.

Public schools in the inner cities are one thing, but I know for a fact at least in my city, that the public schools in the suburbs are pretty much in the toilet as well. They might not have sunk as low as only 52% are graduating but they've dropped significantly as well.

There's a private school here in Cincinnati...tuition for one year of pre-kindergarten, is $10,000. 89% of the graduates from this school go on to college.

The educational choices between the haves and the have nots is increasing alarmingly.

I hear you all.

From the same study, here is the breakdown on graduation rates based on ethnicity.



I still think no matter how you slice it, the percentages are dismal.

reply to post by loam


Wow, ask and ye shall receive! Thanks for the chart Loam.

Interesting.

Obviously throwing money at the situation didn't fix it. Tax levees asking for more are always voted down, teachers still for the most part make crappy salaries, parents aren't doing their job, kids are no longer motivated apparently to go to college, it's a complete breakdown on all fronts IMO.

It's a microcosm of society I guess.

I'm actually surprised more parents here on ATS haven't weighed in on this issue, would love to hear from them as well.

[edit on 3-4-2008 by LateApexer313]

Students Rights? And Responsibilitys Handbook!This does not include the "zero tolerance policy"
Pg. 3 GANG ACTIVITY

No student at school or at a school activity shall:
a. wear, possess, use, display, or transfer to another any clothing, jewelry, emblem, badge, symbol, sign or other object which is commonly considered evidence of membership or affiliation in any gang.
b. commit any act, or use any speech, verbal or nonverbal, showing membership in or affiliation with a gang;or
cause any speech or commit any act that furthers gangs or gang activity, including, but not limited to, soliciting others for memberships in any gangs or inciting other students to act with physical violence upon any other person.
Part 4. Any student found to be guilty of violating this policy will be subject to discipline up to and
including suspension and expulsion.

Student Records Pg. 10
Part 8
The federal “no Child Left Behind Act” requires that school districts allow military recruiters the same access to students as college or job reruiters. This includes, when requested by the “military recruiter, the release of secondary student's names, addresses and telephone numbers. Springfield School Destrict will comply with this federal regulation, however, secondary school students or their parents may request this information not be released to military recruiters. OAR 581-21-0220.

!PART 2
A “gang” is defined as a group that identifies itself through the use of a “name”,
unique appearance or language, including hand signs, the claiming of geographic
territory, or the espousing of a destructive belief system that subsequently results in criminal activity (ORS 336.109)(2).
$$$$ Strange thing about this, is that you only have two weeks, after 6th grade enrollment, to get your
names and information off of this war list. And when do parents actually receive the rule book? And how many people actually read or study what this is really connected to?Death!!$$$$$$ I was told by Robert Hess (Student Acheivement Leader) that our schools would lose $ 7,000,000 in funding if the school board refused to give up our childrens information. Hmmm.$$$$Boom Boom!! $$$$ !
*****
Putting aside the “Baggy Pants” theory, these are the Main Symbols “Our Ghetto's” use! Crowns in which is another connection to so much History it'll make your brain spin!! Crosses, Pyramids, Star of David,Sign Language Stating the Location of their upbringing, North

Bill Cosby will tell you that the proper up bringing of a student or child starts from the home whether that be a mother and father raising children together or single parent, grandparent or foster providing family.

Our country's civilized foundation is based on rules and regulations and so is our schools to keep proper order. If you are not in control you are out of control and many of our schools have lost control and the students have a hard time learning anything in class when other students constantly disrupt the class and cause utter chaos.

Who wants to send their kids to a war zone inside many schools right here in The United States Of America. The teachers must take back the classroom and schools to have any chance of teaching our children to be productive citizens and if it keeps on the present course we all lose. Rik Riley

[edit on 4-4-2008 by rikriley]