Comments on: Graduation and dropout rates for the Class of 2011

By: James

James — Sat, 21 Jul 2012 11:09:08 +0000

Looking at this now from outside the country.. The Race/Gender breakdowns seem even more ridiculous. Figure out why so many kids are dropping out.. period. They all matter. These dividing lines need to be completely erased and the focus needs to placed on elevating the achievement of every single student.. good, bad, or indifferent.. that’s the only way America is going to be able to compete on the world stage. The Education system out here in Japan is all business.. no joke.. no nonsense.. and all the time you guys spend comparing yourselves amongst yourselves will not help your kids compete with these kids.. or with the kids in India.. or China.. or Korea.. or Europe. That race nonsense is killing you all. Put it down and move forward.

By: Katy Murphy

Katy Murphy — Tue, 03 Jul 2012 01:18:24 +0000

Here's a link to the gender breakdown:

By: J.R.

J.R. — Tue, 03 Jul 2012 00:32:04 +0000

Non,
Exactly right, but the bureaucracy does hope that some learning happens as a side benefit. The public sector has plenty of SNUP’s(serves no useful purpose)and that is why bureaucrats like to stay in the background. Again and again the scenario of “rob the taxpayer” plays out, and the public at large never catches on(whether Bullet trains, billion dollar schools).

http://www.city-journal.org/2012/cjc0321cr.html

http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/2010/10/californias-has-second-highest.html

http://californiawatch.org/public-safety/overtime-pay-soars-state-run-police-force-16067

http://reason.com/blog/2012/04/16/nothing-left-to-cut-california-spends-20

http://www.businessinsider.com/head-of-nj-teachers-union-got-paid-over-twice-as-much-as-the-governor-2010-9

http://www.iwatchnews.org/2011/03/03/2097/scores-union-leaders-earn-six-figure-salaries

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700198265/Forced-unionism-is-a-cash-cow.html

It is so very easy to spend someone else’s money.

By: Nontcair

Nontcair — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 20:24:57 +0000

More data. More data. More data.

More studies. More testing. More meetings.

More statisticians to detect correlations.
More administrators to generate reports.
More superintendents to analyze results.
More consultants to craft grant proposals.
More lawyers to seek dispensations.

More IT personnel. More intervention specialists. More laptop computers. More pedagogies.

What does ANY of this have to do with the very straightforward task of teaching Johnny how to read? Is it any wonder why public education needs more and MORE money each year?

Once again we see the bureaucracy working for its own interests — in this case, to secure higher funding for itself — rather than the taxpayers which it is chartered to serve.

By: On the Fence

On the Fence — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 19:06:34 +0000

I wonder what OUSD will propose to address the low rates of graduation of Latino students and even more so, English Language Learners? I’d also be interested to see the data as to which ELL students are bringing down the average grad rate. Is it all ELL students, or subsets such as Spanish speakers who contribute disproportionately to this low graduation rate? There has been much attention to the creation of the Office of African American Male Achievement. I wonder if there is a similar effort to target Latino students who tend to drop out at a higher rate than even the African American students per this report.

By: Larry

Larry — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 03:43:35 +0000

I would like to see a gender breakdown. What % of males vs. females earned a diploma?

By: Catherine

Catherine — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 01:19:24 +0000

Anita: I wish I could say that things have changed. I am familiar with Frick and Bret Harte and I would love to see the statistics of students who simply do not show up to high school at all – my guess – between 12% and 20%.

By: Anita

Anita — Sun, 01 Jul 2012 19:32:48 +0000

I second what Catherine said. Many of my elementary school students (mostly ELLS and others too) would simply stop showing up to school when they entered middle schools. The feeder middle school to our elementary school was chaotic with no systems in place to support students who weren’t showing up to school. This was many years ago, hopefully things have changed. How unfortunate, that these dropout rates would be even more heartbreaking if these middle school students were to be included in the dropout statistics.

By: ASadReminder

ASadReminder — Sat, 30 Jun 2012 05:03:18 +0000

I agree that public high school for low achieving students is totally dismal and boring. Why wouldn’t they drop out? Very little attention, special needs, large classes, more worksheets, meaningless testing. What’s the draw for these students, who perhaps just need a little love, a place to feel safe and some expressive outlet to grow into a productive adult.

By: Stacey Smith

Stacey Smith — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 16:27:28 +0000

Thank you, Katy, for posting this information. The data about special education students mirrors what we see in the achievement information in the strategic plan and also other state data. To answer Steven W.’s musings, special education students are dropping out each year of high school and when I blogged about the low achievement rates for this at-risk population (http://www.ibabuzz.com/education/2012/06/11/time-to-focus-more-on-student-achievement-for-students-with-disabilities/) I was looking at a similar report but broken down by grade level. So no, the low graduation rate should not be all about students who cannot gain a diploma especially because these students can attain a diploma without passing the CA High School Exit Exam. And yes, the majority of students reflected in the data are students of color. As the district works to improve outcomes for these students I hope it remembers that part of that work and focus must be in the special education program because while there may be some students who are incorrectly placed in special education the majority of students in the program are there because they need the specialized support, instruction and services that only special education provides. One question I have is about the English Learners — the board and the Community Advisory Committee for Special Education recently both heard professionals and community members speak about “reverse disproportionality” – the fact that English learners are under-identified for special education support because there is a perception that learning issues are all tied to language acquisition. I wonder if any of these students have just not gotten the support they need?