Posted on 11/30/2012 6:54:53 AM PST by ctpsb
AUSTIN – Texas tied for the third highest high school graduation rate in the country for all students.....
Texans are not Rednecks. They are cowboys.
Now we South Carolinians on the other hand, wear the name Redneck proudly.
•Number 1 with Asian students with a graduation rate of 95 percent.
•Number 1 for white students with a graduation rate of 92 percent.
•Number 1 by tying with Montana with a graduation rate of 81 percent for African-American students.
•Has the third highest graduation rate for all students, tying with Tennessee, New Hampshire, Indiana, Nebraska and North Dakota with a rate of 86 percent. Iowa, Vermont and Wisconsin exceed Texas by one to two percentage points.
•Number 2 for Hispanic students with a graduation rate of 82 percent, behind only Maine.
•Number 2 for children with disabilities who graduate at a rate of 77 percent. Only South Dakota had a higher rate.
•In a tie for second place with Missouri for multi-racial students who have a graduation rate of 92 percent, with only Delaware students graduating at a higher rate.
•In a tie for second place with New Jersey with an American-Indian graduate rate of 87 percent. Only Tennessee has a higher rate.
•Number 2 for economically-disadvantaged students who graduate at a rate of 84 percent, behind only South Dakota.
•Number 26 for limited English proficient students who have a graduation rate of 58 percent. Those who become proficient in English are removed from the limited English proficient category.
Thank you for clearing that up.
/johnny
As a Texan I can say beware the numbers from TEA. It is all about revenue. High graduation rates mean more fed money. The public schools here are not allowed to fail anyone with few exceptions. No grade below a 50. If you do not turn in work you can turn it in late for a 70. There is no content mastery being taught. The number of students repeating a grade in Texas is basically non-existent anymore.
We have some very bright students here, but we also have many that are there only to compliment their facebook status or get the free breakfast and lunch or play sports (this could be a whole separate conversation).
I hate to bring this up because many libs and blue states use it as ammo to say Texas takes more from the feds than we get back. As a border state we have a major problem with kids in our schools who do not speak English so they get to go through the ESL (English as a Second Language) program and are never forced to learn English. Every school just as our illustrious state government has to print every form in Spanish as well and give tests in Spanish (and not Spanish class). It sickens me.
You still see high achievers in some of the suburban schools and magnet/charter schools. I can say many Texans are fleeing the public school system (we are in that group). There are private schools popping up all over the state. Homeschooling is on the rise as well.
“redneck” = someone who works outside for a living.
Wear it proudly.
This is partly the result of Ross Perot’s “No Pass, No Play” initiative which began back in the 80’s. It established universal standardized tests for students and merit based pay for teachers. The teachers howled bloody murder about it back then. I was working for the University of Houston and the teachers had several large confabs there right around that time. To hear them talk you would have thought Ross Perot was the reincarnation of Adolph Hitler. This was only a few years after his big company employee rescue from Tehran and he was still a major hero to most people.
Spot on assessment. All these glowing reports about Texas public schools need to be taken with a huge grain of salt. Federal dollars through standardized tests are driving the outcome to such an extent that the glowing results becomes a self fulfilling prophesy.
My youngest is now near to graduating from college, and she can recognize how pathetic her high school prepared her for university study.
Getting kids out the door with a diploma is no biggie. Any state can do it if it's willing to degrade the product to a level where any nincompoop can pass the state graduaqtion exam.
We often considered homeschooling. Indeed, we did so with each child for the sixth grade only. That along with continual monitoring and frequent counter-teaching allowed our children to escape. Today, I cannot imagine how bad things are.
Good and very accurate information on our school situation down here. Public schools, especially in our part of Texas, are generally horrible, except for high schools like Bellaire which has a significant Asian population and high academic scores. My grandson also goes to private school. He ran cross country this fall and we literally had meets at other private schools all across this part of Texas. Didn’t realize there were so many. Some are huge and others growing rapidly. Grandson’s school is only grades pre-k to 8 but they have thousands on the waiting list. Most of my neighbors homeschool.
Yeah, but to be fair, we (MT) only have about four black folks in the whole state... So you can prolly claim that one for yourself, I guess...
Sorry to burst your redneck bubble, but Texas has more rednecks, and damn proudly, than the beautiful State of South Carolina. On the other hand SC has more bluegums for sure.
I homeschooled my son from 7th grade through high school. I totally agree with your assessment - public school is not being taught like it was when we were kids. I have a friend who moved to the Houston area (a nice suburb of) and was stunned to learn her daughter, who had been given straight A’s in a smaller school district in another part of Texas, was failing in this new school district. It wasn’t the move, it was the level of work expected. she went from an area with a larger “disadvantaged” population to one that was not. Schools teach to the lowest level.
And btw, you forget the West and the Midwest in that definition. Basically all the fly-over states are the Redneck Nation. Spread the love around, son... We are just as uneducated as y'all are.
And even if you don't, there's always Google Translator. ;-)
And even if you don't, there's always Google Translator. ;-)
Yes, I’m sick of seeing redneck used as a derogatory term. It’s become the n word for white people. Those rednecks are the ones who grow the food the world eats.
Our neighbor is a teacher in the local high school and she despises that part. She is not a member of the teachers' union and would not vote for any dem - ever.
There are also several middle and high schools in Austin that have daycare centers in the school for single moms. That is part of "Keep Austin weird".
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