Posted on 02/21/2018 5:53:02 AM PST by reaganaut1
Brian Butcher, a history teacher at Ballou High School, sat in the bleachers of the school's brand-new football field last June watching 164 seniors receive diplomas. It was a clear, warm night and he was surrounded by screaming family and friends snapping photos and cheering.
It was a triumphant moment for the students: For the first time, every graduate had applied and been accepted to college. The school is located in one of Washington, D.C.'s poorest neighborhoods and has struggled academically for years with a low graduation rate. For months, the school received national media attention, including from NPR, celebrating the achievement.
But all the excitement and accomplishment couldn't shake one question from Butcher's mind:
How did all these students graduate from high school?
"You saw kids walking across the stage, who, they're nice young people, but they don't deserve to be walking across the stage," Butcher says.
An investigation by WAMU and NPR has found that Ballou High School's administration graduated dozens of students despite high rates of unexcused absences. We reviewed hundreds of pages of Ballou's attendance records, class rosters and emails after a district employee shared the private documents. Half of the graduates missed more than three months of school last year, unexcused. One in five students was absent more than present — missing more than 90 days of school.
According to district policy, if a student misses a class 30 times, he should fail that course. Research shows that missing 10 percent of school, about two days per month, can negatively affect test scores, reduce academic growth and increase the chances a student will drop out.
(Excerpt) Read more at npr.org ...
Gonna be tough to pay off the college loans for underwater fire prevention degrees working at Starbucks...
The Democrat system on display.
Future French Lit majors of America. However, I give the majority of these graduates no more than 3 semesters before they drop out.
The irony - the more that teachers and admins look the other way on failed tests and absenses, while graduating them anyway - the more students will fail tests and not attend classes.
Essentially, the cycle of socialism.
Sounds like a generous assessment.
Sooner than that.
First of all, "accepted" doesn't mean they'll actually be going. Second, what kind of SAT/ACT scores did these students have? What colleges participated in this travesty of education accepted them?
By falsifying the attendance records, these schools got paid for daily attendance that DID NOT HAPPEN.
The Feds pay every school a daily tab for every student in attendance.
Look hard at the records of this school & see how much fraud they practiced.
Just as I think public education can’t get more corrupt ...
I would make a humble guess that the bulk of these with issues...simply went onto some local community college...NOT a real four-year deal. What they will find as they skip at the community college...tests will occur, and failures will be noted. The college will grin as they comment that you need to repeat the class, and pay them for the second attempt. That’s all you are doing....creating a wave of people paying money for nothing.
The stunning thing is that it’s NPR reporting it.
With the way universities are these days, that’s questionable.
Underwater fire prevention sounds like it could be pretty well-paying, dealing with things like metal fires and the like in the petroleum industry or something to do with the big underwater comms cables etc.
It’s “underwater basket weaving”, or (more likely) some kind of “studies” degree, that is the no-future/no-career-path choice.
It’s not unusual for kids in large high schools to just disappear and then re-appear for tests. Reason: You aren’t allowed to smoke weed in school or you have a job. They can’t flunk you, especially if you are a minority.
They are ready for jobs in the government, no need to go to college.
They can stick around in college just long enough to run up five figures in debt. Some favor the democrat schools are doing here.
I bet you get a better education in prison.
“One in five students was absent more than present — missing more than 90 days of school.”
1 in 5 students.. missing more than 90 days of school.. absent more than present.
So school is only 90 days ?
It looks like the author also attended this same school.
But we all know what’s really important, their self-esteem.
All that counts now is how they feel about themselves, or is it theyselves or cis-selves, gay-selves, trans-selves.....OK I’m lost here.
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