1 in 3 students aren't graduating high school?

[converted_democrat]

I had to wait in an office today, and I picked up a well worn copy of Time that stated that 1 in 3 students aren't graduating high school.. That number just seemed really high to me.. If it's true, it would go a long way in explaining why our country is in the sorry state that it's in.. If 1 in 3 aren't graduating high school, how could they be expected to make truly informed voting choices? If this statistic is accurate, than I think one of the first orders of business should be rebuilding our school systems, and make education a real priority in this nation..


on edit- Here is a link to the story, but you have to pay for it.. It's actually a new edition.. I just assumed it was old from the wear and tear of the copy..

http://www.time.com/time/archive/preview/0,10987,1181646,00.html

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

1. That would be the dropout rate in the fifties.

The dropout rate is, I think, about ten percent for middle class white students, up around 30% for hispanics, and somewhere in the middle for African Americans.

As for informed voting choices, that's exactly why Republicans are trying to trash public schools.

[converted_democrat]

2. This was a semi- current copy, within the last 3 months n/t

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

6. If the numbers are correct...

that is, 30% across the board, then that's a major change over a short amount of time. Not a sociological change, but a policy change- i.e. No Child Left Behind.

How ironic.

[theHandpuppet]

3. That isn't an old issue

It's the cover story on this week's issue of TIME.

The numbers surprised me, too, but more than that I am saddened for my country. We are breeding millions of young people ignorant of the world at large, of other peoples and cultures, of their own government, of science and reason. I guess this is the end result of an anti-intellectual society fixated on celebrity and material trappings. Certainly ripe for the rise of fascism -- give them bread and circuses and someone to hate and they'll follow you anywhere.

[converted_democrat]

4. I didn't really pay attention to the dates, but it was well worn, it had

been read by many before me.. I just assumed it was an older copy from the wear.. Regardless of the date, the number is staggering.. I couldn't believe it..

[theHandpuppet]

14. I knew it was this week's issue because I just bought one

I hadn't picked up a copy of TIME in years (too RW for me) but in the last couple of weeks I've picked up two: the one where global warming was the cover story, and this one concerning the dropout rate in American schools.

[converted_democrat]

15. The only time I ever read Time anymore is when I'm in an office waiting

for something..

[zbdent]

5. Wow, that's more than half!

;) :evilgrin:

[countingbluecars]

11. Good one. n/t

[FormerDittoHead]

7. Here's the 2002 numbers...

http://www.unitedhealthfoundation.org/shr2004/components/hsgrad.html

Go to the chart, right side (where the states are listed by rank) and go to the bottom and you'll see who's voting for Bush...

edited for link

[cynatnite]

8. Nationwide...

Five out of every 100 young adults enrolled in high school in October 1998 left school before October 1999 without successfully completing a high school program. This estimate was similar to the estimates reported over the last 10 years, but lower than those reported in the early 1970s

http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2001/dropout/

I did run across a few that claim this statistic

http://www.gatewaytocollege.org/development/docs/gateway_brochure.pdf

http://www.oregonlive.com/special/series/dropouts.ssf?/news/oregonian/00/06/lc_11dropx25.frame

[converted_democrat]

10. TheHandpuppet pointed out that it is in the latest issue of Time.. I would

think they'd have it right.. It seemed really high to me, but it would go quite a ways in explaining the sad state our nation is in..

[napi21]

9. If that's true, then we need to know why?

suspect it's becasue somehow, our dear Feds have started tracking stats differently. I don't know how to check, do YOU? I only wish I did. Something doesn't make sense to me in this story, and when it does't make sense, it's usually wrong.

[converted_democrat]

12. In the article it mentioned Census questions, and another means, but

I don't remember what it was..

[BeTheChange]

13. Im not surprised..

My freshman year class was 847. I ended up graduating with 500-550...maybe.

Sad but true and that was 14 years ago.

[Yupster]

16. The rates are the problem

Districts don't know how to keep track of dropouts.

If a kid goes to school in May and doesn't come back in September, is he a dropout?

Maybe.

Or maybe he's being homeschooled or he's going to private school, or he may have just moved out of state or out of the district.

Our local district used to chart dropouts as only kids who came to the ofice and said they were dropping out. That missed the group of kids who just didn't come back in September which was the biggest group of actual dropouts.

Therefore the district would publish very low dropout rates even though the freshman class was twice the size of the senior class year after year.

It's a problem of dropping out and also of counting who really is a dropout and who isn't.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

17. Actually, Graduating High School Has Absolutely Nothing To Do With

intellectual capacity, PERIOD.

But I do agree that the number seems really high and is reason for concern of our school systems.