[2ndDivisionVet]

If any mayor did exactly the opposite on every issue of what Mr. Bloomberg or the idiots in California do, they'd probably have a model city.

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

This proves that Mayor Bloomberg is right! His constituents are too stoopid (sic) to think for themselves, so he has to decide how many french fries and how much Coke they can eat and when and where and what they can light up.

If any mayor did exactly the opposite on every issue of what Mr. Bloomberg or the idiots in California do, they'd probably have a model city.

It depends on your model, I suppose. Mayor Bloomberg's is Detroit.

[pepsionice]

The question here....what exactly are they doing for twelve years? They have to shuffle everyone around, in some pretend-to-read act? Then graduate them, and discover months later in college....they read mostly at the 5th grade level? I don’t get it.

If this is it...the kid is maximized at age fifteen and the last three years of high school mean nothing much....then let’s let the kid graduate and leave. The money spent on the last three years is totally wasted.

[gusopol3]

New York City has the lowest graduation rate for black and Hispanic male students in the nation, with only 37 percent graduating

So that's what all of his side shows are about.

[Standing Wolf]

Why would anyone bother trying to teach state serfs how to read?

[rovenstinez]

Or, if something they’ve tried doesn’t work, they just try it again, but the next time A LITTLE HARDER. The stupid isn’t in the classroom, it’s in the bully political pulpit SCHOOL VOUCHERS, PRIVATE EDUCATION WHERE PARENTS SELECT AND GET INVOLVED IS THE ANSWER.

[muir_redwoods]

You mean to tell me 20% of them can read?

[YourAdHere]

They can’t read, but they do know that global warming is killing us all and that gay marriage is a constitutional right.

[Conscience of a Conservative]

The headline is a little bit overblown (and comes directly from the headline from the linked article, which itself is overblown). In the actual article, it says:

Officials told CBS 2′s Kramer that nearly 80 percent of those who graduate from city high schools arrived at City University’s community college system without having mastered the skills to do college-level work.

There's a big difference between saying that 80 percent has not "mastered the skills to do college-level work" and saying that 80 percent "can't read." Both are a problem, obviously, but the latter (incorrect) statement is far, far worse.

[Rocky]

But on the bright side, 20% can read. So the liberals haven't completely destroyed the educational system.

Yet.

[Happy Rain]

But they sure can breed and get an EBT.

[ThePatriotsFlag]

...I don’t hear any teachers coming to the microphone on this. Seems the teachers union would be refuting this?

[Cincinatus]

80% of NYC High School Graduates Can't Read

Judging from their election results, nearly 100% can't think.

[Eric Roelfsema]

This proves right here that the Teachers Unions needs to be dissolved. But if the union stays, Tenure MUST go.

[traderrob6]

Related...

http://exposingtheleft.blogspot.com/2013/03/officials-80-percent-of-recent-nyc-high.html

[capt B]

My first thought is— Why are they in “community college?” I imagine it’s to keep them off the streets. No one will hire them at $8 an hour minimum wage. Get rid of the minimum wage and many would be able to get entry level jobs where they might be motivated to learn something.

[SoothingDave]

So, we should mandate talking nutrition info menus at NYC fast food places?

[Think free or die]

I'm a new teacher (mature career changer) in a parochial high school. My colleagues with decades of experience are all pretty dismayed at the decline in basic skills among our incoming students. Unfortunately, by the time they're in high school, we face the choice of failing a large percentage of them or helping them pass by essentially lowering our expectations. They've been socially promoted for years. Many of them are very weak readers, and math skills are enough to make me cry. These are average teenagers in a suburb. The inner city kids I taught last fall were in far worse shape.

I wish I could point to one thing that is to blame, but I think it's the result of many changes and problems in society and in education. Kids (and adults) are not held accountable for their behavior or their learning. They are shocked when we hold them to standards, but many of us are doing our best to hold the line. It's tough to teach to a reasonable standard while helping kids who are way below grade level in their basic skills. There is a gap that few educational leaders are willing to really address. We pretend to address it by offering differentiated education, in which classrooms are filled with children of varying abilities and teachers are expected to adapt lessons to fit the needs of each child. It's a recipe for exhaustion, and doesn't work as well as the theory would suggest. You can't move a class much faster than the slower learners. It hurts the bright kids most.

Another of the educational theories that I wrestle with is that of small group work. My students usually respond well to working in small teams, and they have good social skills. They are efficient in producing a work product, such as a project. I think that in many cases, this kind of work is well suited to preparing them to hold jobs where they will need to work in teams. Unfortunately, it can also undermine deep learning of content. They can produce work, but they don't necessarily master content in the process. Students are so accustomed to working in teams that the thought of doing their own homework is a foreign notion. At some point each student needs to engage individually in order to learn basic skills and content. I am concerned that these pedagogical methods undermine this kind of focused individual work. Time and again I find students turn in homework that suggests understanding and then fail tests based on the same work. They don't dig deeply enough to understand beyond a superficial level. Even many of my AP students have this pattern. Very frustrating and very concerning.