Only 1 of 2 students graduate high school in major US cities

[Grendel]

Only 1 of 2 students graduate high school in US cities: study

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Three out of 10 US public school students do not graduate from high school, and major city school districts only graduate one out of two students, according to a study released Tuesday.

In a report on graduation rates around the country, the EPE Research Center and the America Promise Alliance also showed that the high school graduation rate -- finishing 12 grades of school -- in big cities falls to as low as just 34.6 percent in Baltimore, Maryland, and barely over 40 percent for the troubled Ohio cities of Columbus and Cleveland.

And it said that black and native American student's have effectively a one-in-two chance of getting a high school diploma.

"Our analysis finds that graduating from high school in America's largest cities amounts, essentially, to a coin toss," the study said.

"Only about one-half (52 percent) of students in the principal school systems of the 50 largest cities complete high school with a diploma."

Based on 2003-2004 data, the report said that across the country the graduation average for public school students is 69.9 percent, with the best success rate in suburbs -- 74.9 percent -- and rural districts -- 73.2 percent.

Asian-Americans score the highest graduation rate, at 80 percent, with whites at 76.2 percent and Hispanics at 57.8 percent.

Women graduate at a much higher rate than men, 73.6 percent to 66.0 percent.

In the country's city schools, the study found that in urban areas generally, just 60.4 percent graduate, and in the principal school districts of the top 50 cities, barely half graduate.

Detroit, Michigan's main school district scored a graduation rate of 24.9 percent.

New York, the country's largest city, has a graduation rate for its main school district of 45.2 percent, and Los Angeles, the second largest, of 45.3 percent.

Only five of the principal school districts topped the national average.Absolutely brutal numbers, here.

Urban school districts are in trouble, but a graduation rate of 1 in 2?

1 in 4 in Detroit?

It seems to me that, to reach the depths that we're seeing here, there must be multiple points of failure. Schools, teachers, parents, communities? Are any more to blame than the others?

[dead breed]

Pretty shocking numbers.

[pastor_ice43]

Parents, overcrowding....hell the environment of the inner city alone. I'm glad I went to a rural school...same kind my kids will go to.

[WarBeast]

Absolutely brutal numbers, here.

Urban school districts are in trouble, but a graduation rate of 1 in 2?

1 in 4 in Detroit?

It seems to me that, to reach the depths that we're seeing here, there must be multiple points of failure. Schools, teachers, parents, communities? Are any more to blame than the others?

I'd say most of the blame lies with the parents... when I was in highschool, I once, and by once I mean ONE TIME ONLY, mentioned the idea of dropping out and getting my GED... My dad went ballistic... He's a very intimidating and persuasive individual when he's pissed. Suffice to say, after that little discussion, dropping out ceased to even be a remote thought of shear unrealistic whimsey in my mind.

If my kids try to broach the same subject when they get to be that age, I'll handle it in much the same way... and I'll be damned if they drop out... even if I have to walk them to and from each class.

So yeah, if you don't want your kids to drop out, don't let them...

[Revenant]

That's pretty abysmal, especially for a country like this. We should easily be one of the best when it comes to education.

[deathslasher666]

Sadly, I know a lot of my friend will more than likely not graduate next year with the rest of us. Not sure how to distribute the blame, but some of the blame goes to the students. My friends that I know that probably won't graduate slack off quite a bit and barely do work. However, I guess you can also blame parents for not being so strict on their kids about their grades. Most of the time, when I get a bad grade, I only blame myself for slacking off and not doing the work I should be doing. However, I have had the teachers in the past that I blame for bad grades just because of how shitty of teachers they were. I think the blame can be pretty divided between different groups.

While we're on this topic also, recently, the school has been giving a bunch of teachers notices saying that there's a good chance that they wouldn't be returning as teachers to the school next year. My English teacher more than likely recieved one since he's a new teacher. The schools here are receiving heavy budget cuts. One of my friends actually started a petition, protests, and other things to try to persuade the higher ups not to cut the budgets this bad. She's done a really good job on it, and hopefully it'll work, but if not, next year, we may be out of an art department, and we'll be looking at 40-50 students easily cramped up in a classroom with teachers that may not be fully experienced in the subject they are forced to teach. It's not even stopping at the schools, there will be many police officers and fire fighters that will be let go from their position. So, if this falls through, it is more than likely these numbers will rise at an alarming rate because of the conditions the schools will be put through. With all this kind of stuff happening, I can't see this situation getting any better.

[FrighT MasteR]

Sometimes all it takes is failing one required course. I always showed up at school (except senior year) and generally did most of my work, but I almost didn't graduate, because I sucked bad at math, and I was required to have two or three (can't remember) math credits.

Somehow I pulled it through, and I'm pretty sure it was because my last math teacher felt sorry for me, being one of the only seniors in a freshman/sophomore class. :( I got off with the exact passing grade, which was obviously a huge relief.

My friend, however, failed, and ended up getting a GED instead. His sister never graduated and never bothered to get hers. :dsp:

[violent d]

Out of my 3 sisters and 2 cousins I was the only kid in my family to not drop out of school. Im counting my 10 year old sister as a drop out because even though she isnt old enough to yet I know she will. My mom pretty much has to beat her into her school clothes every morning.

[Searcher]

I'd say most of the blame lies with the parents... when I was in highschool, I once, and by once I mean ONE TIME ONLY, mentioned the idea of dropping out and getting my GED... My dad went ballistic... He's a very intimidating and persuasive individual when he's pissed. Suffice to say, after that little discussion, dropping out ceased to even be a remote thought of shear unrealistic whimsey in my mind.

If my kids try to broach the same subject when they get to be that age, I'll handle it in much the same way... and I'll be damned if they drop out... even if I have to walk them to and from each class.

So yeah, if you don't want your kids to drop out, don't let them...

I blame parents first every time. But in the inner city the problem starts to turn into the chicken and the egg scenario. Even if you're the best parent in the world your kid doesn't stand a chance against the title wave of poor influence the community has to offer.
Of course our idea that the parents are to blame is still valid because the root title wave consists mostly of incompetent parents who begat bad kids. It takes a village.

[koolmike]

<---graduated

[réÐþÁ†µ]

Sad state of affairs if I do say so myself.

Blame goes all around. Parents cant always be the scapegoats. They are a large portion of the blame, but not entirely. Sometimes kids get too occupied with the social/party/popular side of school that the educational part becomes irrelevant.

[WarBeast]

Sad state of affairs if I do say so myself.

Blame goes all around. Parents cant always be the scapegoats. They are a large portion of the blame, but not entirely. Sometimes kids get too occupied with the social/party/popular side of school that the educational part becomes irrelevant.

Yeah, and when I let the social/party/ side of school cause my grades to decline, my folks grounded my ass and wouldn't let me do any of that shit until my grades went back up.... again, it goes back to the parents... what they allow their kids to get away with and what values they teach their kids in the first place.

I'm not saying that all the blame rests at the parents' feet... but a nice big chunk of it does.

[Late For Reality]

<---Graduated in May 2007, HOLLA!

But is a college dropout. YIKES.

Anyway, from life experience, these numbers are pretty much right. About 90% of my cousins dropped out of High School.

Hell, we only get a graduation from a relative once every few years.

[Luris Blear]

Absolutely brutal numbers, here.

Urban school districts are in trouble, but a graduation rate of 1 in 2?

1 in 4 in Detroit?

It seems to me that, to reach the depths that we're seeing here, there must be multiple points of failure. Schools, teachers, parents, communities? Are any more to blame than the others?This is hard to say.

On one hand, people encourage these kids to act like pack animals. There seems to be an endless amount of money to be made by doing so.

Then we permit it. "Not MY kid," or maybe "This child has no parents willing to say 'Not MY kid', so we can't punish him too hard."

Drug and alcohol abuse are typically viewed as more acceptable than success, simply because more people are abusing drugs and alcohol than lifting themselves up. "Kids will be kids."

And the dealers? More kids who will mark territory as their own and claim it as their own despite the hard work of someone else to actually pay for that territory. Reagan did well to call this "war," since that's the only word I can think of for such an armed invasion.

We, as individual adults, do the easy thing in permitting this by not calling it what it is or even seeing it for what it is. Our kids follow suit by acting in fear of living any other way.

Maybe when we stop looking for quick fixes, easy solutions and someone else to blame then our kids will stop following us down the same destructive path.

[dead breed]

I blame it on the death metal and horror movies, the same things that "supposedly" caused all the school shootings, give me a break. :dsp:

[Driden]

These days it seems Teachers are more interested in fucking their students then teaching them

[réÐþÁ†µ]

These days it seems Teachers are more interested in fucking their students then teaching them

Quote of the day.

Good stuff.