SUN EDITORIAL:

New rules a little late

With three months left, Bush administration finally addresses dropout rates

Saturday, Nov. 1, 2008 | 2:08 a.m.

One of the many flaws of the Bush administration’s No Child Left Behind education law was that it did not have a follow-through much beyond middle school. High school graduation rates, for example, were virtually ignored.

Targets for increasing the percentage of students who graduated were required, but states alone set those targets. Many chose improvement rates of 1 percent or less. Many others, including Nevada, just set an ill-defined goal of “any progress.”

The Education Trust, a Washington-based nonprofit organization specializing in uplifting the academic achievements of minority and poor children, released a report this week critical of the lax attention to graduation rates. It estimated that one in every four K-12 students in this country is dropping out.

One of the reasons that dropout rates have not inspired more states to establish serious goals or initiatives is that few people, including educators, understand the scope of the problem. The National Governors Association acknowledged that fact in 2005, when its members agreed that methods for calculating dropout rates varied so radically from state to state that reliable statistics were unavailable.

To address that situation, the Bush administration this week announced new rules under No Child Left Behind. States will be required to use a nationally uniform system to track dropouts. They will also be required to set genuine goals for high school — to be met several years from now — for improving not just overall performance and overall graduation rates, but also the performance and graduation rates of minorities and disabled students.

We agree the dropout rate is too high and that better tracking methods and higher graduation goals are necessary.

But we also believe that trying to salvage No Child Left Behind at this late date in the Bush administration is futile. From the start this law should have been less punitive, better funded, less reliant on standardized tests and more focused on whether the increased attention on early grades was elevating student achievement and graduation rates. The challenge of crafting such a law should be left entirely to the next president.

Discussion: 7 comments so far…

By cnev

11/1/08 at 7:50 a.m.

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I don't think Nevada citizens really know how bad our drop out problem has become. As a teacher I have seen some of the brightest teens drop out of school. We don't ask why and try to change it-we try to explain it away. The focus on testing in the lower grades is where the money goes.
I really believe our high school systems are antiquated. We focus on subject areas which do not prepare teens for the adult world. The kids know this. Many would rather get a GED than attend high school. Our focus on reading, writing and math have insulated our students. We want literate children but those subjects taught in a vacuum do not prepare our kids for the world today. They are way ahead of us in technology but don't know how to apply it. Many of the schools are unsafe. Kids lose heart. We need to bring them back and give them some hope for the future. I believed education was the answer to success while in high school. Many students, sadly, find it irrelevant to the real world.
By uddeboda

11/1/08 at 8:17 a.m.

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Could the drop out problem be that the students cant see a way forward to college, the cost. I do believe that the USA college education is not free, correct me if I am wrong. Then I can continue my posting.
By jfnance32

11/1/08 at 8:51 a.m.

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Yes lets make No Child Left Behind a federal money give away program.

Sounds like a Obama game plan to me.
By uddeboda

11/1/08 at 8:57 a.m.

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Yes, why not.

There is nothing like having an intelligent nation, the only problem then is they will start demanding their rights as human beings
By dbltrbl

11/2/08 at 4:10 p.m.

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Education will never be noted as advanced during Bush's tenure; No Child Left Behind just gave school administrators a reason to falsify student results.

In his quest for a majestic "legacy", Bush unwittingly molded one in his eight years but not the one he wanted highlighted in historical text.

-He wrenched from American's hearts our concept of honor on the world scene, that we did what was right and needed when less-rich nations were unable to help those in crises anywhere in the world.

-He dishonored our beloved Constitution, the precepts of which so many of our fellow citizen's have given their lives.

-He self-righteously extolled his doctrine to the horror of not only the world, but every American, that this country had the right of preemptive attacks against anyone, anywhere if we felt our safety could be conceivably construed as threatened, even without threat or provocation.

-He lied, proven and documented, so many times to us that nothing coming out of his mouth is even listened to anymore.

-He showed his own self-hatred by showing us that another human life means nothing to him; that torturing, killing and discarding another's life is simply the means to some twisted end and that now each American bears guilt knowing he was "acting in our name." That is such a heavy load to bear.

-He looted our country's Treasury to benefit his cronies and donors, never even feeling the need to justify a dime of it.

-He borrowed money to finance his schemes from Communist China who, should they call in their markers, would find us unable to pay.

-He made the term "Middle Class" an oxymoron because now Americans either have money or they don't - there's no in between.

In this eleventh hour, he is frantically setting up de-regulations that will be difficult, if not impossible, for any successor to nullify.

He lounges and laughs this weekend at Camp David.
By PatriciaLV

11/2/08 at 5:09 p.m.

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"There is nothing like having an intelligent nation, the only problem then is they will start demanding their rights as human beings"

Not to mention even fewer will vote for the right wing and we certainly can't have that.

An uneducated populace is the right wing's dream. It's the only way (besides rigging an election) that they can get into office.
By PatriciaLV

11/2/08 at 5:10 p.m.

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dbltrbl: That was beautifully-said. Thank you for that.

I can't help but wonder how many EOs have been passed while the "media" is focused on the election .....