until these boys quit looking at being stooopid as "kool" and "keepin it real" and any attempt at real learning as "acting white" the teachers don't have a chance...
Posted on 03/31/2005 8:45:16 AM PST by NormsRevenge
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell and state education officials are wiping egg off their faces. O’Connell’s Department of Education has claimed that 87 percent of California high school students graduated in 2002. A recent Harvard study, however, finds that only 71 percent of California high schoolers graduated in that year. It also reports that only about six out of 10 black and Hispanic high-school students received their diploma.
Faced with the Harvard data, state education officials have admitted that their statistical methodology is flawed, relying on undependable data from local schools. The Harvard study says that because of California’s “misleading and inaccurate” calculations of dropout and graduation rates, the public is unaware of the extent of the graduation problem, particularly the low rates for blacks and Hispanics. While the Harvard findings are welcome, they tell only part of the story.
If proportionately few black and Hispanic students graduate, fewer are taking the rigorous courses needed for college eligibility. In 2003, only 24 percent of black high school graduates and only 21 percent of Hispanic graduates took the college preparatory curriculum – the so-called “a-g” courses – required by the University of California and the California State University. Both figures are down from five years earlier. In other words, three out of four black graduates and four out of five Hispanic graduates didn’t take the coursework needed to advance to the UC or CSU system.
Further, even if they take college prep courses, students have to achieve a certain grade-point average and college admissions test-score level in order to be eligible for the state’s top universities. According to just-released data from the California Postsecondary Education Commission, “Because a lower proportion of African American and Latino ninth-graders complete high school and graduate, the gap in access to a university education is wider than indicated by eligibility rates based on high-school graduates.”
Thus, while about six percent of black and Hispanic high-school graduates are eligible for the UC, the eligibility rate nosedives if one looks at eligibility as a percentage of students who enter high school. Using that measure, only about 3.5 percent of black and Hispanic students were UC-eligible in 2003.
The bottom line is that the state’s public schools have to do a better job of preparing black and Hispanic students for academic success. There is hope, however.
There are a handful of schools that are producing high achievement among low-income black and Hispanic students. One such school is the American Indian Public Charter School in Oakland. Despite its name, about half of its students are black and Hispanic. The principal, Dr. Ben Chavis, says that the school emphasizes high expectations, standards-based learning through standards-aligned textbooks, constant practice, and diagnostic use of student scores on state tests.
At this school, teachers are hired based on their brains and abilities rather than paper credentials. The school uses self-contained classrooms where students stay with the same teacher for three years and teachers teach every subject to the same group of students. The result: American Indian is the top scoring middle school in Oakland and has an attendance rate of nearly 100 percent.
Instead of putting out false statistics that mask the failure of public education, state officials should be pushing model schools like the American Indian Public Charter School. For the sake of our children, it’s time to be honest and implement what works.
"The bottom line is that the state’s public schools have to do a better job of preparing black and Hispanic students for academic success. There is hope, however."
The bottom line is either:
a. The black and hispanic students need to choose their coursework more wisely
-or-
b. Force students to take the minimun required classes to enter the UC system
Statistical problem? NO. The problem is California's QUALITY OF EDUCATION combined with a pandering to minority students. The Liberal Midas Touch, which has dessimated education quality in California, in favor of OUTCOME-BASED EDUCATION continues to measure its sucsess on HOW MANY GRADUATE, AS OPPOSED TO WHAT THEY KNOW, AND IF THEY SHOULD GRADUATE, AND IF THEY ARE EVEN BEING TAUGHT PROPERLY.
Welcome to the leftist California model of education. A complete and utter failure and disaster for its students. It takes the award, along with I believe Alabama, FOR BEING THE WORST IN THE NATION when measuring teaching effectiveness -- NOT HOW MANY GRADUATE.
Bingo, you hit the nail on the head, these students have to be more pro active with their classes and btw doing homework and studying would also help.
California already has a basic requirement for graduating from High School. High School degree is required for UC transfer (or GED). The problem runs much deeper with the black and hispanic kids-the 40% who do not graduate. First, the parents who did not graduate and refuse to take responsibility for making their children attend school. Second, gangs. They have no interest in higher education of any sort. Third, hope. Poverty has a habit of extinguishing hope. Fourth, quality teachers who are too frightened to teach in the poorer schools. And who can blame them?
What percent of the population do they represent, and what percent of the admitted freshmen to UC?
I was referring to "In 2003, only 24 percent of black high school graduates and only 21 percent of Hispanic graduates took the college preparatory curriculum – the so-called “a-g” courses – required by the University of California and the California State University." from the article. This seems to imply (to me at least) that specific classes, that are not mandatory, are needed to go on to the UC system.
If it's the teaching effectiveness, how come all the white kids are qualifying???
"The bottom line is that the state’s public schools have to do a better job of preparing.....students for academic success."
No. Such preparation can only be accomplished at home. If didactic education is an alien experience to a first-grader, the parents are responsible.......
Gee, I wonder why the author(s) didn't include Asian students?
The UC system has other avenues of entry including jr. colleges offering the required courses, transfers, etc. I did it. And yeah, it might take longer. But first, the kid needs to want to go, and the parents need to be able to financially support them. Frankly, what I can see with a kid approaching college age and living in Kullifornia most my life, is that many of the minority kids are simply not interested in college at all. And once again, we're back to parental guidance and hope issues.
The actual bottom line is that peer pressure is the major cause of high drop out rates. IMHO this points to a crisis of parenting in these cultural subgroups. IE Black, Latino, and Indian parents place little or no emphasis on the importance of formal education.
The only "program" that will make a difference is where children are taken away from their parents. Obviously, aint gonna happen.
IMHO it is just a matter of time, and little else, for the "disnfranchised" to realize that education /self-reliance are the biggest factors in the economic disparity between the "haves" and "have-nots" we continue to read about.
They are not! Only 70 some percent of students graduate.
Teachers Union keeps the bad along with the good.
Because they work their butts off and graduate a very high
percentage. With out them the drop out rate would rise a
few percentage points.
“Gee, I wonder why the author(s) didn't include Asian students?”
I read about this a few days ago – in that article, the author refer to Blacks and Hispanics as non-Asian minorities. I think it has everything to do with parent involvement. The Asians who migrate to the U.S. have much more control/discipline over their children then the average American parent. And their children benefit and learn from their parent’s wisdom.
Holtz
JeffersonRepublic.com
Zackly! That's why we're working our tails off at home with our nine year old to make sure he stays even or ahead of his peers. If you're kid(s) go to public schools, you cannot depend on them alone to ensure your kids learn and stay even with the other kids. We communicate with his teacher weekly.
We pass notes back and forth, talk face to face or even the occasional phone call. All of these have an impact. If you have a teacher that is even remotely interested in teaching and they see you as an ally in teaching, your kid has a better chance of getting the instruction they need to succeed.
You HAVE to get involved at home. Being a lazy parent is not an excuse if your kids fail, it's a ROOT CAUSE of the kids' failures.
Cheers!
If it's the teaching effectiveness, how come all the white kids are qualifying???
=====
They are not. I have talked with officials in state education myself and learned that many WHITES are coming out of high school not only totally unprepared for college (and the entrance exams) but many have no or little reading comprehension and disasterous math abilities.
Get the facts - they are there for anyone interested. Thank God my kids are OUT of the California government school system. If I had it to do over, I would work three jobs to put them in PRIVATE SCHOOLS.
until these boys quit looking at being stooopid as "kool" and "keepin it real" and any attempt at real learning as "acting white" the teachers don't have a chance...
I agree. In all walks of life and in all cultures, the low achievers try to hold back those with ambitions, much like the socialist try to handicap free enterprise. Since we are competitive beings, those who are around achievers tend to achieve more themselves. The opposite is true for those stuck with low achievers.
The Harvard study says that because of California’s “misleading and inaccurate” calculations of dropout and graduation rates, the public is unaware of the extent of the graduation problem,....
Most likely influenced my the amount of federal money they get depending on graduation success.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.