Failing Graduation Rates

AIR DATE: Wednesday, May 26th 2010
POSTED BY: SARAH JANE ROTHENFLUCH

Today the state reported that, according to a new calculation, only 66 percent of Oregon's high school students graduate after four years. In the class of 2009, a full 28 percent of the students dropped out — that's over 14,000 students. On today's program we'll dig into these numbers, talk to an administrator, and hear from some students who found programs that took them from would-be dropouts to graduates.

What's happening to the state's students? Why aren't many of them graduating after the expected number of years? Should the schools, or the students, be doing something different? Or are the expectations inappropriate? Are you a teacher, administrator, parent, or student? What do you think of these newly reported statistics?

NOTE: We'll also talk about yesterday's other bad news: the $560 million budget hole in the current biennium, and Governor Kulongoski's plan for across-the-board cuts of nearly 10%.

GUESTS:

Tagged as: education · graduation · special education

Photo credit: Clever Cupcakes / Creative Commons

Education takes more than 50% of total state expenditures in Oregon.  Low graduation rates and the poor quality of the remaining graduates highlights not only dysfunction and  underachievement but also a bad investment from hard earned tax dollars. 

Maybe if we spent 10% more on education we would not be in such dire straits?  More likely the education system is a make work program for union teachers who really are just interested in job stability and income...and not interested in the future of our children.

If a foreign institution imposed this backwards education system on our citizens, this would be just cause for war.   IF children our our most important resource,  Public Schools could school BP in resource extraction.

Unfortunately lip service to the importance of education has lead to a bloated bureacracy that expects more and more resources and has no accountability for results.  We need to work smarter not more expensively.

Time for accountability for teachers.  Yes we will grade you and you better not slack.  Failure is an option for too many and they still get a regular payday and benefits.

jacob —

These graduation rates aren’t just about failing teachers or failing schools – and they certainly aren’t about failing kids.  They’re about failing communities.  From prenatal healthcare options for low-income moms to equitable access to family-wage careers as youth transition to adulthood – and everything in between.  Schools play an enormous role – and they also exist within a larger context.

Youth of color will soon make up a majority of all students in Multnomah County – yet these new figures show that their graduation rates are as much as 30 percentage points lower than whites in Portland schools.  We need to fund and support culturally-specific services for youth from birth to career and address inequitable policies, programs, and outcomes wherever they emerge.  This is everyone’s problem.  And when we turn it around, everyone will feel the benefit. By cutting the dropout rate in half for just one high school class, the Portland area would see an additional $38 million in wages and $4 million in tax contributions – every year. 

There’s more on this in a recent publication by the Portland Schools Foundation at http://www.thinkschools.org/uploads/File/PSF_2PageCx25_April_13_2010Lo.pdf

natewaasshull —

I'd like to see or hear about exact numbers from each school of how many drop outs they have.

The total number for the state has little meaning for me at least as my knee jerk reaction is "Oh they are probably from some where else."

Would this direct school by school information help communities battle higher drop out rates?

Lunoshard —

It is interesting that yesterday’s new graduation rate is that it is based on two underlying assumptions:

1) students who graduate in four years are successful

2) those who don’t are failures

Research does not validate either premise.  I am an educator who has spent years teaching in conventional and alternative high schools.  Currently, I am working on my doctoral dissertation and the topic is on success within alternative education, so this issue of graduation rates and how they are calculated is important to me. 

Each year in education, we learn how to accommodate different learning needs so that children can be successful.  Usually we assume that “success” is based on whether a child is learning and progressing toward graduation; we know that children learn at various rates and so while we would like every third, fifth, eighth, or tenth grade student to reach a certain benchmark, the Oregon Department of Education adopted a “Student Growth Model” in 2009 that is much more realistic.  It looks at students as individuals and monitors their progress.

This new way of calculating graduation rates – proposed by the federal government and endorsed by our state – is in direct conflict with the Student Growth Model.  It no longer looks at students as individuals.  Instead, it defines a successful high school student very narrowly – as one who graduates within four years.  I would argue that this definition is inaccurate and may potentially be harmful. 

By lumping together the students who take longer to graduate, who get a GED or modified diploma, or alternative certificate into the category “non-graduate,” we are doing a great disservice to our children.  We equate them and their efforts to students who drop out completely and never finish.  Having a high school education is very important; graduating from high school accords an individual with a certain amount of respect.  By categorizing 34% of students as “non-graduates”  we are telling that portion of the population that they are failures.  This is tragic.  Our definition of “successful student” needs to change.  We can begin that change by demanding a graduation rate that accurately reflects the reality within our schools – more than 66% of students complete high school. 

Marie Ballance —

Here are three composites (based on the stories of many students I’ve worked with over the years) to illustrate my point:

  • “Mike” maintained a B average while playing sports.  Unfortunately, in tenth grade year he had a serious health issue and was in the hospital frequently that year.  Mike was not able to finish his high school experience within four years because of his medical issue – but he finished in four and a half years and is now a hardworking young man with a career and a family.
  • “Jenny” was a bright student who worried that she would not be able to afford college.  She heard about a new program that would allow her to receive an associate’s degree and her high school diploma within five years.  Jenny worked very hard and graduated at the age of 19 ready to transfer to a university for her final two years of school. 
  • “Kyle” did not do well during his first year in high school.  In fact, he failed most of his classes because of his poor attendance.  His mother enrolled him in his district’s alternative school, which had smaller class sizes and a focus on service-learning and Kyle thrived.  He graduated five years after he first entered high school received a job through his internship experience.
  • “Anne” was a special education student who was born with brain development issues; doctors did not expect her to be able to learn how to read or write.  Her mother worked very hard to see that Anne had a high quality education and that Anne always believed that she could do anything – her disability was not a limitation.  Anne graduated within four years, but she received a modified diploma.  Anne now holds a job with a childcare facility and she lives on her own.

I doubt that people would consider these students unsuccessful. The notion that students who graduate within four years are more successful or more prepared for life than those who don’t is based on a faulty premise.  To the best of my knowledge, there is no research within our state that looks at a large cohort of students for several years beyond high school completion to determine whether the amount of time spent within high school correlates to success post-high school. 

Marie Ballance —

Definition of Failure: 

Gets F in Tests.  Failed Classes.  Flunked out of School.   

We don't want to call a human being a failure.  Rather it is a label of their performance.   But if you are illiterate and can't do basic math,  how can you hope to succeed in 2010?--unless you were the son of Bill Gates.

jacob —

According to this (state-by-state percentage graduation rates):

http://www.manhattan-institute.org/html/cr_baeo_t1.htm

Oregon is at 67%, but IOWA is at 93%.  Just find out what Iowa is doing and do that.  Could it be that simple? Probably not, but there is something compelling in the higher number that should be compared to whatever Oregon is doing.

Actually, the basic high school model of having a community disgorge its young people into centralized buildings for a whole day for 9 months out of the year is pretty dated.  A century-old model that is failing us. We are living in a Happy Days world.

For teen agers, access to information is no longer filtered primarily through the schools.  No wonder many are choosing not to waste time moving around all day in a high school building like rats in an experiment.

roboturkey —

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roboturkey —

From what I can tell after having three children in the Oregon school system the primary focus of high schools is their sports programs not their academics. What we really need to know is if the state education system produced enough professional sports players. If we spent more money on sports and less on math, reading, science and other unnecessary programs we might not have high graduation rates but we could produce one or two sports stars that could go on to the state college system and bring the glory and respect that is so prized from our education systems. After all how many people tuned in to watch an engineering student or pre-med student win a prize for academics? Really what we want is to turn students into revenue generators on the playing field. So let’s stop worrying about graduation rates and start focusing on what’s really important.

PROZACME —

Perhaps it's time to ignore the statistics along with the value of a traditional high-school diploma which, if I understand correctly, either prepares one for university or a min-wage position.

Maybe it's time we finally hit the reset button and made high-school more relevant to those who won't be moving on to university... made it a place where genuine skills could be taught (directly, in collaboration with a local CC or technical institute) that offer the promise of meaningful employment without a lengthy/costly follow-up at a university. Offer them hope... I'd pay extra for that (but not for the status quo).

The data may be less an opportunity for self-chastisement and more one to choose a model with which to lead the country in the better direction.

rethomas —

These data are not new.  When using the method of comparing the number of 19 yr olds and the number of "normal" diplomas, the graduation rate in the US peaked in the mid 1970s at around 72% and has been more or less flat since then.

These new "disturbing" numbers surface from time to time when the edcational establisment's always better and better numbers (the fox guarding the hen house) are pushed aside and simple demograghics are used.

Sometime in the next decade or so there will be no majority ethnic population in US high schools. Given that historically, black and hispanic students have lower graduation rates, in the absence of some miracle, HS graduation rates will continue to decline as the ethnic mix shifts.

midhenry —

2 of my sister's children will "graduate" high school with 2 years of college credit.  she has used the system to get free college for her children.  they were home schooled most of their school career.  i believe this is popular among the home school group.  Ths will skew the numbers of graduating students.

cindysaunders —

$130 MILLION  in additional funds would certainly be of help in this issue.  In addition, removing marijuana from schools would help (no one under 18 should consume cannabis) ... 

Currently, Cannabis is widely available in schools, with students stating that cannabis is easier to get that tobacco and alcohol.  This is because the federal government pushed all drugs into the uncontrolled, unregulated black market, controlled by drug dealing organizations.  

Oregon needs to enact the Oregon Cannabis Tax Act (OCTA) to regulate cannabis and raise over $130,000,000 for the state treasury. Enacting the OCTA this would reduce cannabis accessibility for those under 21 and fund programs to reduce use of youth.

Tax and regulate cannabis. Drug dealers don't ask for ID.

I graduated in 1968 - I nearly failed and had to take summer school.  Now I hear that summer school is being dropped. I would be one of those student who don't graduate today.

I love the music program and was stage manage in my senior year.  Music, drama, art programs are being dropped in this fiscal environment.  Yet, one of the few things I still carry with me in the intervening 45 years is the flute I played.  Music tought me how to work with others. And the music programs are being dropped.

Children today are severely deprived of a good education and I feel VERY sorry that their education is so poor.  We ALL suffer from this.

Cannabis consumers are asking to pay taxes and help fund our schools and save the children.  Please seriously consider this option.

Rainbeaux —

As a mom of 3 (who are beyond their H.S. years) and as a teacher, I have a simple observation based upon many experiences.... 4 years of H.S. is too long.  I am not advocating dropping a year of education, rather, restructuring the campus models throughout the grades to culminate in a 3 year H.S., grades 10, 11, and 12.  "Burnout" is a word we are all familiar with.  Thank you.  Mary 

momandteacher —

Do schools receive funds from the state and federal government based on daily student attendance?   If so, then keeping students in high school past 4 years might have a financial insentive for school districts... just wondering.

dragonfly9712 —

Why in God's name would the state survey graduation rates after FOUR years when the school system allows FIVE years to graduate?  The survey is flawed and does not indicate failure or success. 

rain2fall —

A point of clarification.

Sixteen percent of students are considered dropouts under this new cohort graduation rate -- not 28%.

According to state law, students who recieve GEDs (6.3%) and students who recieve alternative certificates (5.5%) are not considered dropouts.

Obviously, GEDs and alternative certificates are not ideal outcomes for our students and do not fully prepare them for the workforce. The new cohort rate is consistent with our new graduation requirements and sends a clear message that our focus must be on ensuring all students graduate in four years with a regular diploma.

At the same time, we must take into account that each and every student is an individual with a unique set of learning circumstances and schools are challenged with meeting these needs in a specialized way. Our schools need the support of our state and their local communities to make progress with our at-risk youth. 

SusanneSmith —

While GED and alternative certificate students are not considered drop outs by state law, they are considered "non-graduates" under this new system of calculating graduation rates. 

I don't think that the answer is to ensure graduates finish high school within four years; the bigger issue is to make sure students are prepared for life after high school (college or career), regardless of how long that takes.

Marie Ballance —

More money is not the answer! The education system is already wasting millions of dollars every year on administration, union entitlements, outrageous contract buyouts (U of O) and ineffective teachers that have tenure. Unfortunately we will never be able to change this system with out the teacher's union spreading fear and lies about "harming our children". First thing to change is to fire all of the administrators and dissolve the teacher's union.

PROZACME —

Declining high school graduation rate warns us something is wrong. Why are students not graduating?

Too much recreational Internet, video games, texting and other distractions?

K16 education can be mind-numbingly boring and not attached to real world?

Too many sports and not enough academics?

Too much focus on the cult of personality as opposed to young people developing character and integrity?

Too much focus on materialism instead of enlightenment?

Laziness and selfishness? I'll let somebody else run society; I just want to do my thing, screw everybody else?

Do students escape reality by using recreational drugs? Is existence so bad and hopeless that it's better to escape reality artificially rather than overcome the challenges life presents?

Have students become cynical and given up? "Why should I graduate high school when there is no hope for me to graduate from college and get a good paying job?"

How many students seek to escape becoming a cog in a burnout, low pay, low reward, meat grinder corporate "career"?

trurl9 —

Well said!

PROZACME —

Does anyone believe that the school environment and curriculum  per se are truly responsible for the decline in the average quality of the product...the kids? Young people today are seeped in influences well outside school and parental control....when such exist  When I was in high school (1948-52). school activities and events were the core of our existence.  We had no social activites that were not carried on in the family or at school (Friday night dances at the gym) or sports games- all well atended.  We studied and read and many or most of us worked at after school jobs and in summer jobs. But few of us had to work out of dire economic situations at home. If there were any kids on welfare, the trest of us didn't know it.

We did go to films and listen to radio. But we had none of the distractive activities and devices with which kids today are obsessed. It was unthinkable that a teen would not graduate in four yrs. I knew no one who dropped out of school. 

No one smoked dope and very few used alcohol prior to graduation. These mind numbing drugs weren't needed to enjoy life. Life was good. No kid wanted or needed to face it without mood enhancing chemicals. The idea was alien to the vast majority of us.  

Boys had three choices: draft, college or a job. No one thought about 'finding themselves' or hanging around their folk's houses playing chirldrens' passtimes and living off their parents. Girls had a number of choices: college, a job locally, or marriage and a job. Few went into the military though there was a war going on. The latter wasn't considered very lady-like. 

But there is another factor. We were all white. There were exactly two black students and maybe one or two  Mexicans out of a student population numbering 1000. We were all unhyphonated Americans with no loyalties save to this nation. So there were none of the race problems and divisions and animosities that seem to bedevil all big schools in most American cities today.  Neither was I aware of any class distinctions playing out amongst us.  

Sports were secondary to the process of getting an education.  We didn't have to divert energy and extra money into sports or into exaggerated programs of music and dancing in order to give a certain racial group a feeling of achievement.  

Gereng —

What about Senate Bill 300? This bill, passed in 2005, was supposed to make districts provide students at-risk of dropping out financial support to take part in dual credit options. This allows students to both complete their high school credits in a way that works better for certain populations, and also work towards a college degree. Many students who participated in the program, say that before they took a class on a community college campus, they didn’t even consider going to college. It helps students both graduate from high school, and get excited about giong to college. However, currently school districts can opt out of paying for these dual credits. Because of this, only 22% of the students served by this bill are economically disadvantaged. So, right now, the bill is mostly serving students who could afford these opportunities on their own. It seems like this bill should be amended to pay for at least those students who are determined to be financially disadvantaged.

expandedoptions —

We can fix the budget problem by simply halting all benefits to undocumented Oregon residents. I personally know people who are here illegally and they automatically qualify for health care and food stamps. If we stop giving these benefits out so freely maybe we can get a reign on state spending. The vast majority of our tax money is given out in entitlements to people who do not pay into the system. This can not last forever. Eventually there will not be enough people paying into the system to support the cost.

Instead what the goverment and unions will do is threaten to cut teachers, police, firefighters, nurses etc. to scare us into voting for tax increases.

PROZACME —

"Once in a Life time"  BS!  This is a here we go again!

Desolation —

As a high school drop out and college graduate I know first hand how our schools fail to meet the needs of the modern student.  Our over crowded and underfunded schools fail to offer solutions to the challenges that many students in todays society face.  I found that advisors beleived that peer presure and drugs were the only factors affecting student acheivement.  The hard reality is that social and ecconomic challenges are a deep and robust problem in our schools.  I found my self in the same situation as a large number of students; not being adequately supported by my parents,  having to work to pay for my basic needs like food and clothing, and unable to get government assistance because I wasn't yet 18.  At school I found indifferent teachers, verbally and physically abusive peers, and counselors who were uninterested in trying to address my problems.  I too dropped out from Grant High, so I appreciate the difficulty Cassandra faced at school.  I want to encourage her to go forward and earn a degree, she certainly can accomplish this.  I am still astounded by the amount of rhetoric I hear from the PPS educators about how progresive and sound there education programs are, when my experience and the experience of many of my peers is to the contrary.  Why do we allow our concerns about our failing education system to be so readily placated by the same old empty rhetoric.  We need evidence based evaluations of our schools and educators and greater accountability.

pdx pete —

Comments are now closed.



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