Almost exactly a year ago, I wrote about the problems in Los Angeles high schools, where they’re facing drop-out rates of around 50%. The LA Times ran an enormous education special about the crisis, and while they noted that there are problems for urban school districts all across the country, no-one seemed over-worried about Texas’ schools. After all, this state reported an 84% graduation rate, and Polimom’s nearest urban district (Houston) was only losing roughly 1/4 of its high school students.
It looks like it’s time to climb off the pedestal in the Lone Star State, folks.
Texas has apparently been playing fast and loose with its rates, and according to several reports this morning, Texas schools are also facing a drop-out crisis. From theHouston Chronicle: [ update: link unavailable from the Chronicle now. Relinked to Texas Insider.org This story is evidently not available online anymore]
Researchers generally agree that Texas’ statewide dropout rate hovers around 33 percent, which is about 20 points higher than official statistics compiled by the Texas Education Agency.
The Houston Independent School District reported a 76 percent graduation rate for the class of 2005. The graduation rate is the percentage of freshmen who start high school and finish four years later.
HISD spokesman Terry Abbott has said the district follows state guidelines for reporting its rates, but district officials also have said that the percentage of students who wind up getting a diploma could be as low as 60 percent because some don’t even begin high school.
Polimom’s having heartburn right out of the gate. 20 points isn’t a rounding error, and worse yet, it seems our elected representatives already know about this.
State leaders and lawmakers for years have acknowledged the dropout problem, but critics complain that few resources have been invested to fix it.State leaders are aware of the high numbers but focus most of their attention on property tax cuts and other issues, Noriega and others said.
Of course they focus on tax cuts. This is Texas, after all.
Not only are Texas students dropping out of school like flies, the rates are much higher in urban districts, where (like L.A.) the rates meet, and even exceed, the 50% rate:
The dropout rate is highest for blacks, Hispanics and low-income students — currently about 60 percent, said Eileen Coppola, a researcher at Rice University’s Center for Education. “In our major urban districts, we can safely say that it’s 50 percent.”
[snip]
Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst strongly disagrees with assertions that state leaders aren’t doing enough to reduce dropout rates.
But he agrees dropout rates in some urban and border school districts run as high as 60 percent.
“We have a huge problem,” he said.
Indeed. A huge problem.
Unfortunately, our system is not set up to address this at all — because to confront it will require comprehensive educational reform, all the way down to the foundational principles and goals.
And I’m sure we don’t have the will to do it. Nobody does.