Thursday, February 01, 2018

Bogus High School Graduation Rates Are Nationwide.






















 





It's common knowledge that the New York City's high school graduation rates are bogus and few students make it through college or obtain high paying jobs that can support a family.  Unfortunately, the bogus graduation rates are not confined to New York City.  It's a nationwide problem.  Take Washington D.C.  public schools for example.

On Oct. 28, 2015, the D.C. Public Schools district put out a statement lauding itself with this headline: “DC Public Schools Continues Momentum as the Fastest Improving Urban School District in the Country.”  That tale is looking a lot less remarkable in the wake of revelations that educators and administrators, feeling pressure from their bosses to boost graduation rates and student performance, allowed many students who did not have the requisite qualifications to graduate. An example is Ballou High School.

 A city study — undertaken after media reports revealed the situation — found that more than 900 of 2,758 students who graduated from a D.C. public school last year either failed to attend enough classes or improperly took makeup classes. At one campus, Anacostia High in Southeast Washington, nearly 70 percent of the 106 graduates received 2017 diplomas despite violating some aspect of city graduation policy.

This was the result of the education reform movement that pressured school administrators to commit academic fraud to show the "miracle"   Reformers refused to admit, at least publicly, that there are no “miracles” in education. Student success takes hard work by young people and their teachers and parents, and it takes work not just around school policy but also with housing and health and fiscal and transportation policy.

In Washington D.C. like all urban school districts, standardized test scores — which are highly correlated to Zip code and family income — did indeed dramatically rise over the past decade. But officials didn’t like to mention that proficiency rates of D.C. students would still be considered failing in a high-performing district or that a wide achievement gap persists between white students and black and Hispanic students. Some in the District also say that test scores rose because the percentage of white students — who traditionally do better on standardized tests — has grown in District schools in recent years.

In Washington D.C. there was a cheating scandal and academic fraud goes hand in hand with education reforms and while scho0ol districts nationwide report higher graduation rates, the "miracle" is just a mirage as these students drop out in college do to their lack of educational ability.

You can read the Washington Post article Here.





9 comments:

Anonymous said...

They also allow Principals like Dwarka to change grades, so Fariña can claim a beautiful day.

Anonymous said...

Seventy percent of students in many community colleges take at least one remedial course. Some spend years in the abyss and never make it to college level courses.

Abigail Shure

Anonymous said...

spelling counts Chaz..."students drop out due to their..."

Anonymous said...

6:22pm...
Page 55 of our contract -
"D. Students’ Grades
The teacher’s judgment in grading students is to be respected; therefore if the principal changes a student’s grade in any subject for a grading period, the principal shall notify the teacher of the reason for the change in writing."

I guess it's up to the chapter leaders to file these grievances...
But the blame is put on the principals (and I have no love of principals!), because nobody wants to grieve it.

Anonymous said...

The UFT does nothing, Almost every grievance is denied.

Anonymous said...

There is a massive fraud as never seen before.

Anonymous said...

In my second year in the DOE a principal wanted to change one of my failing grades for a student who came to class exactly one time in the semester. I asked if there was some sort of form to sign, and the office staff member said they would get back to me. Later in the day, they came to me and said, "Don't worry about it. The principal already took care of it."

The kid graduated.

Anonymous said...

Of course they commit fraud and nothing happens.

Anonymous said...

Fariña, DeBlasio and the complicit UFT are dishonest crooks that are pushing kids out into college and the world with 3rd grade reading and writing skills. Everyone knows it including the kids. Everyone is fine with - a permanent underclass and lots more homelessness in the future. Have you ever met one of your former students living on the street? Keep passing them for doing nothing and you’ll have lots of reunions in the local parks.