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just because a kid drops out doesn't mean he is gone.. many go on to be cooks, janitors, low wage jobs that we need in america. an education is not for everyone...
High schools losing 1/3 of their students
Web Posted: 03/07/2005 09:32 PM CST
Mc Nelly Torres
Express-News Staff Writer
More than a third of Texas high school freshman students are disappearing from the system or otherwise failing to obtain a high school diploma in four years, according to a study by the Intercultural Development Research Association.
The annual study by the San Antonio-based nonprofit group found a high school attrition rate of 36 percent for the 2003-04 academic year, a moderate drop when compared with the 38 percent attrition rate in 2002-03 and 39 percent in 2001-02.
This makes for about 8,570 San Antonio-area high school students who did not receive a diploma last year.
Bexar County mirrored the state with a 36 percent overall attrition rate. Minorities fared worse, with a 43 percent attrition rate for Hispanics, followed by 38 percent for blacks and 20 percent for Anglos.
"The study results testify to the fact that we need to do so much more to make sure that more kids graduate with a high school diploma," said Roy Johnson, director of evaluation research at IDRA.
Texas ranks 36th nationwide in its high school graduation rate, according to a recent study by the Manhattan Ins ute.
The attrition analysis comes at a time when the state is administering a more rigorous standardized test, which includes an exit test given to students in order to earn a high school diploma. And after being criticized for undercounting the dropouts for many years, the Texas Education Agency is changing how it counts them.
Linda Mora, deputy superintendent for curriculum and instruction at Northside School District, said officials are concerned about attrition and dropout rates.
To address the issue and keep students in school, area districts have restructured high schools by creating learning communities within the schools and implemented mentoring programs at both high and middle schools, she said.
In Texas, minority and male students made up the majority of those who did not graduate on time last year. Almost half of Latinos — or 49 percent — were not among the 2004 graduating class, followed by 44 percent of black students, and 22 percent of Anglo students.
IDRA, which is dedicated to giving students an equal education, conducted the first comprehensive statewide study of high school dropouts in 1986 using an attrition formula, which is based on ninth-grade enrollment figures and 12th-grade enrollment figures three years later, to estimate the number and percent of students who leave high school prior to graduation.
Military schools, state schools and charter schools were excluded from the analysis because these schools tend to have unstable attendance.
Attrition rates, which can be calculated in several ways, are an indicator of schools' holding power or ability to keep students enrolled in school until they graduate.
Though researchers noted the scope and variables used in the analysis are imprecise, educators said the study underscores an educational crisis.
"The message is very powerful because this has an economic impact for the whole community," said Ron Stephens, who handles Northside's student data.
Since 1985, more than 2 million students have been lost from public schools in the state. And every year, nearly 121,000 students don't graduate, costing the state about $500 billion in forgone income, lost tax revenues and increased job training, welfare, unemployment and criminal justice costs, according to IDRA.
Jay Smink, executive director of the National Dropout Prevention Center, said most people don't understand the seriousness of the problem.
"When a kid drops out of school, he drops out of society," Smink said. "People must understand the issue and take part in the solution, because the problem affects all of us."
just because a kid drops out doesn't mean he is gone.. many go on to be cooks, janitors, low wage jobs that we need in america. an education is not for everyone...
Clandestino, we agree on this. Perhaps it's time somebody admitted that compulsory education isn't necessarily a good thing.
I don't have a problem with "compulsory education" per se...I think it was a bad thing to eliminate the "voc-ed" track. Not everyone is going to college... , not everyone wants to go to college. The European system maintains its own voc-ed track...why can't we? Only difference I would want would be to make the track voluntary, not the result of some test in 6th grade or something...
It is nature taking it's course. We are animals and nature simply will not allow everyone to graduate HS or college. Survival of the fittest.
Only difference is humans don't kill off the weak. Or do we?
In Texas, minority and male students made up the majority of those who did not graduate on time last year. Almost half of Latinos — or 49 percent — were not among the 2004 graduating class, followed by 44 percent of black students, and 22 percent of Anglo students.
51% of latinos made no excuses.
56% of black male students made no excuses.
78% of white male studens made no excuses.
do you think any of these that graduated had any issues at home? maybe some obstacles to overcome? they sure did. we all did. always someone better off than you. always someone worse off. the education system cannot be held responsible for the failures in and around the home. i think no child left behind is a bull . i think no child should be left without a chance to succeed. maybe even a 2nd chance. but 3 strikes, your out. don't drag down the education quality of the students that give a damn.
i don't know how to make the parents that don't care, suddenly care. if i could fix that, i believe the graduation rate would skyrocket. i know it's not always that easy, but that is where it has to start.
Agree, zak! As with everything, it all starts in the home.
Too many broken homes with only one parent is the problem.
Too many people "hooking" up instead of marriage.
Bad role models at home.
That's where I disagree. Single-parent homes aren't the main problem. It's back to parents taking a stand and being the hard-asses we sometimes need to get us going.
I was in a single-parent household from 1989 (I was nine) to 2000 and we moved to San Antonio from Uvalde in '89 as well.
My mom was on me daily about my education, always telling me to do better, always checking in on me at school, always helping me with my homework, always being there to listen to me and so on.
I'm now on my way to being one of the only children of my mom and her siblings to graduate from college.
Parents need to care, educators need to care and they both need a of a lot of help to do both. Education shouldn't be a burden, but a welcome for those that seek it.
Although I would like to add that it is a little better that we finally seem to be receiving more true numbers when it comes to HS dropouts.
and that is the problem with the figures... they don't tell the whole story... a european study would be way lower because not everyone is supposed to finish high school...
I think we should give students teh ability to learn a trade. When I was in high school we had vocational education which included welding, auto mechanics, construction and other trades.
, some of the guys I graduated make very good money as welders or mechanics.
No degree needed.
exactly, you can make enough to feed a family on a welder's, mechanics or contruction worker's salary...
I agree. Those that want vocational education should be able to get it without problems. By allowing them to work and begin apprenticeships early, they are more prepared to enter the workforce following graduation.
Bigger government and/or more funding for schools won't solve the underlying social problems. If education is not a priority in the family, or worse, if the parents don't care what their kids are doing, those kids are likely to fail. Teachers are not and can never be parents.
Our schools definitely need more vocational education. The way schools are currently financed has forced many schools to completely drop VO-ED programs. Where I teach, the majority of students will go to college, but they all don't. I've never understood why it's OK for these guys to linger or atrophy because they don't fit in with the college bound at ude here.
To those who agree with the above, but mainly Zak and S y,
This is the question I would love someone to answer me. If it all starts in the home, which I'm not disputing or agreeing with, but why do black and hispanic kids show much a much lower rate of finishing high school.
If it all starts in the homes, why is there a difference when you look at the numbers split down racial lines?
Does this imply that more hispanics and blacks come from broken homes? If so, why?
On the subject of vocational training,
Some of you may think it is acceptable for half of hispanics in this state to not complete high school, I do not. Not by ANY stretch of the imagination.
Are you telling me that you find it perfectly accetable for one half of hispanics to fill nothing more than "cooks, janitors, and low wage jobs"? This is a problem any way you look at it
I have no problem with an educationaly system that is voluntary and allows people to better plan for life and get job specific training as early as the high school level. But you also need to realize that traditional vocational programs have little use in our society. A good 3/4ths of all the positions in today's working world (I am using loose numbers, but the figures are around 70%) require the use of computers and other highy advanced equipment.
We don't live in the same economy that allows familys to live off the single income of steel mill worker, and those jobs are steadily declining due to globalization.
Globalization has the impact of removing low wage jobs from this country and exporting them to countries where there is cheaper labor to be found. In order to keep pace, we must provide a workforce that is educated on a much higher level. We are failing to do that and it is going to seriously hurt the average American in the long run.
The government can keep touting rising GDP while corporations based in America, but unless we do something in order to help our work force stay ahead of the curve, we are in for a suprise. You need look no further than the influx of highly educated Indians at all of the major corporations here in town. I have no problem with them making the best of their opportunities, but I would like for our society to be equiped to compete.
For instance, San Antonio has long been a customer service/call center hub. There are many jobs in that market here that appeal to people without a college degree because they are able to make a decent wage while having only a high school diploma.
Those jobs are being exported to call centers in India where the workers are making less,and have one if not two college degrees involving the subject matter.
A vocational system is fine, but the reailty is that in order to compete in the job market we have here, this vocational system is going to have to consist of training that is at a collegiate level.
On vocational educaton:
Do any of you know what high schools offer any more? If you look at the Northside high school course catalog:
http://www.nisd.net/pdf/instruction/...CatalogWeb.pdf
you will see that a large part of it (page 8 onwards) is on Career and Technology, an alias for Vocational Education as far as I can tell.
Maybe for some people, dropping out is the path of least resistance?
Maybe dropping out is contagious, and by that, I mean in the form of peer pressure?
Maybe there are bad people in school who serve no real purpose but to drag everyone else down?
I'm just asking.
All of that may be very well true in some respect.
But the question I want answered is what is the factor that makes this effect monorities more?
BTW, When I gradated, I took classes to prepare you to enter the job market. I made it a point to take classes such as Typing, MicroComputer Applications, and I was in CO-OP work programs my last 2 years in HS. I did it because my family needed more money, and I had to work, but it led me to getting skills which looked pretty damn nice on my resume at the age of 18.
I'm not opposed to this type of training, but the reality is that it's not a cakewalk either. I see no reason to expect atrition rates to drop based simply on providing a different course plan because the courses aren't all that different from what I would have taken otherwise.
We're not talking a shop class where you don't learn. We're talking a classroom environment that requires much the same that a college preperation schedule requires. Advocates of vocational training in today's job marketplace need to understand that.
I dunno, Manny. I wish I had an answer.
I do believe that a lot of times you are a product of your environment.
I don't know.
You are looking at this from the top down. To answer the question, I'd suggest talking to dozens of dropouts, one-to-one, and see if a pattern reveals itself.
I hope to see this trend change as more and more minorities receive college degrees and pass on their success to their children.
My father, I believe, who didn't finish high school was determined that his children did. He pushed us hard to graduate from HS but then for college we were on our own so to speak.
I truly believe that those parents who plant the seeds of success in their child's young minds will reap those rewards when they become adults. I don't know what the answer is but I see it in my own family.
One sibling has his kids going to college, the other has none of her kids going to college. Both raised by the same parents. Go figure.
well, by the nature of the word minority, there are less blacks and hispanics than whites in texas. therefore, similar numbers of drop-outs will result in higher percentages.
other than that, it will come down to environment and perpetuation of past problems over generations. families that are pumping out multiple children when they cannot even take care of one....and i mean emotionally, much less financially.
i would like to see the data of how many kids the avg. latino, black, and white family are having....compare that to income, and you will see why we are having problems.
easy to look at the per capita in the schools. lets look at it in the homes.
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