"Rich Anderson" <rich@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
news:9ed84658d9066632a5f4a39224360be5@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
| A MiSTing of President George W. Bush's 2004 State Of The Union Address:
|
| Tom: How many times do you think he'll mention terror?
| Crow: At least fifteen.
| Mike: Maybe more.
[clipped]
| Tonight, members of Congress can take pride in great works of compassion
and reform that sceptics had thought impossible. You are raising the
standards of our public schools;
| Tom: Says the man who ruined Texas' educational system
| Crow: "Is our children learning?"
[end clip]
Excellent.
I could provide cites for pretty much every MSTied comment from the
news.
As for the Texas REAL DROPOUT rate (32% folks) thanks to the "No Child
Left Behind" scam.
(Of course, the other scary re****ted numbers are Louisiana's 1999-2000
rates
of 9.2% dropouts and 1998-1999 rate of 10% dropouts).
On the other hand, now that the data is publicly available, thusly
solutions can be proposed.
Knowing the full extent of any problem at least allows the fuller
recognition of potential solutions if any exist.
And, sad to say, this isn't a matter of politics, but dealing with
human
problems by human solutions and it affects our nation in subtle and
grotesque ways.
========
http://www.tcta.org/misc/dropoutrates.htm
Texas dropout rates as calculated under national standards released for
first time
The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) has released its first
dropout rates for U.S. public schools, including those in Texas. The
rates,
based on 1999-2000 data, were released in Aug. 2002, and for a majority of
Texas districts the NCES rate is higher than the dropout rates re****ted by
the Texas Education Agency (TEA).
The NCES calculates Texas' 1999-2000 dropout rate at 5 percent, placing
Texas 26th out of 47 states. This rate is significantly higher than the
1.8
percent re****ted by Texas officials. The TEA mailed a letter to
administrators informing them of the data release, and citing two reasons
for the rate differences: (1) the NCES dropout definition includes
students
who are not dropouts under the TEA definition, and (2) NCES uses fall
enrollment rather than ***ulative enrollment in the denominator of the
dropout rate calculation.
A copy of the full NCES data is available online.
http://www.tcta.org/edmatters/test/dropoutstudy.pdf
Copyright © 2003 Texas Classroom Teachers Association®,
all rights reserved.
========
Whereas Texas's claimed dropout rates are 1.6% (for 1996-1999)
http://www.tea.state.tx.us/research/dropout/9899/dist_list/state.html
========
Of course, other folks note that it is much higher
http://www.troho.com/issues/2003-10-14/miracle.html
Bush's 'Texas Miracle' and the zero dropout rate
by Sam Yurick
[ clipped ]
According to a study by the Manhattan Institute, the statewide dropout
rate
was actually more like 50 percent
than the celebrated 4 percent. In fact, the Texas formula for calculating
dropouts was so inaccurate that, the Dallas
Morning News re****ted, the federal government threatened to cut dropout
prevention funds to Texas. Finally, in addition to the dropouts who didn't
actually "drop out," another scam was at work that would have made Enron
proud. This one was used to increase standardized test scores.
In one Houston High School, 3,000 students were enrolled. In the tenth
grade, every student was required to take a test that would determine not
only that student's placement, but the bonuses awarded to teachers and
principles as well. In this particular high school, fewer than 300
students
took the test. Basic division tells us that
approximately 700 students, a quarter of the school's population, should
have taken this test.
[ end clip ]
=========
Noteable articles on this subject by the mentioned Manhatten Institute
http://www.manhattan-institute.org/html/_dmn-dropout_study_paints.htm
Dropout study paints worse picture than state
Criticized re****t shows just over half of DISD students graduate
November 15, 2001
By Joshua Benton
Barely half of all high school students in Dallas and Fort Worth schools
graduate, according to a new study by a conservative think tank. That
includes less than 40 percent of Latino students.
Those numbers are sharply different from the numbers re****ted by the Texas
Education Agency, which says 75 percent of Dallas students graduate within
four years, including 67 percent of Latinos. But Dallas officials
acknowledge that state data may underestimate the size of the problem.
"[Superintendent Mike] Moses has said the dropout problem is probably a
lot
bigger than what any of the other figures re****t," said Donald Claxton,
Dallas district spokesman. "We know it's a major problem, and we're trying
to do something about it."
The study, from the Manhattan Institute, is an attempt to compare the
dropout records of all 50 states and the country's 50 largest school
districts. Texas was 39th, and most of its biggest districts placed near
the
bottom in the study.
Calculating the size of a state's or district's dropout problem is a
notoriously slippery task. There are more than a dozen different accepted
ways to crunch dropout data, which can produce wildly varying results. And
dropouts, by their nature, have removed themselves from the mainstream of
American education, making tracking their whereabouts difficult.
The Manhattan Institute calculated graduation rates, a method attractive
in
its simplicity. The study examined the class of 1998 at two points - when
the group was in eighth grade and when they should have graduated. If the
two groups are the same size, the graduation rate would be 100 percent.
According to that method, the national graduation rate is 74 percent.
Texas
graduates 68 percent of its students: 59 percent of blacks, 56 percent of
Latinos, and 76 percent of whites. Dallas was found to have a 52 percent
graduation rate, and Fort Worth 53 percent.
[ end clip ]
http://www.manhattan-institute.org/html/_wsj-politics.htm
Politics & Policy: Various Ways of Calculating Dropout Rate Leaves Subject
Open to Much Interpretation
December 18, 2001
By June Kronholz
[ clipped ]
Maryland uses one of its dropout-rate calculations as a factor in deciding
whether to sanction a school for poor performance. But because of
local-control arguments, there is no statewide student database. Maryland
instead depends on the districts to re****t their dropout rates. But
finding
if children have moved or dropped out isn't easy, and the districts have
few
resources to go looking.
Schools and districts also have incentives to put the best light on their
numbers. "It's possible to cook dropout statistics," says the Manhattan
Institute's Dr. Greene. An unsuccessful ballot measure last year in
Michigan
proposed that children in any school district that didn't graduate
two-thirds of its students be given a private-school voucher. During the
debate, Detroit schools re****ted their graduation rate jumped from 30% to
68% in one year. Both numbers are under review.
[ end clip ]
And a PDF graph detailing the info
http://www.idra.org/Media/graphs.pdf
--- I don't call that Criminal Traitor a SUPERFRAUD for no reason. A
record
of solid disgusting lies from day 1 in office to the current state of
affairs has taken a dire toll on this nation.
|
