posted October 12, 2008
The most recent press release from the Hamilton County public schools reports an increase in the graduation rate per school. The release did not mention that system wide 25 of every 100 students attending public schools will not graduate as reported on the 2007 system report card from the Department of Education.
Without a doubt some schools will improve, while others may not, so looking at the system performance seems to be a better indicator how many children are entering adulthood without even the minimum needed.
Does the 25% dropout rate for 2007, include the estimated amount of 30% of children in this county that are in home school and private school?
Allison Graham
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The reported high school graduation rate represents the percent of kids who began in the ninth grade that graduated with their class. For example, if 300 out of 400 kids who started ninth grade graduated, then the rate is 75%.
The graduation rate does not include private school or homeschooled kids.
The 'real' problem is that the graduation rate is 'not' a good indicator of "school performance", despite being used by NCLB hacks. It is an indicator, however, of home life and parent performance.
Generally, kids from stable, caring homes will graduate, whereas children from homes with poverty, social problems and uncaring parents are at risk. More of the latter homes exist now than in the past, which is contributing to the educational "tipping point" in which, for the first time ever, the next generation in the U.S. will be less educated than the previous one.
Schools are better than ever, but cannot effectively teach kids who are truant, who lack a work ethic and proper deference to authority, and who come to school worried about drugs, crime, poverty and divorce in their homes.
Gary Furman
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