Spring Break
Get higher standards
States shouldn't settle for low graduation rates to meet goals
Andrea Robertson
Issue date: 10/28/08 Section: Opinion
Today, kids are less likely to graduate than their parents were.
Since 2002, No Child Left Behind has bombarded our school systems, causing both school officials and teachers to lose sight of their goals - providing students with a quality education that ultimately leads to the students obtaining a high school diploma.
Under the No Child Left Behind Act, state schools are required to show both progress toward higher standardized test scores and a higher rate of high school graduation. Here's the loophole - the states set their own graduation target.
In order to make it appear that their schools are making progress in both these criterions, states are setting their graduation rates extremely low. North Carolina currently has a graduation rate of 72 percent and has decided they must improve this rate by a 0.1 percentage point every year. Sadly, it will take nearly one hundred years for North Carolina to reach a graduation rate of 80 percent. Because No Child Left Behind has school officials concerned with producing higher test scores, states are basically turning a blind eye to all the students who are dropping out.
If there is going to be a national act, like No Child Left Behind, the federal government should set the graduation targets, not the states. Test scores should not be the focus of America's school systems. America needs to stop giving schools a pat on the back for good test scores, when one in four students is dropping out!
It is true that the school systems are pressured to improve their test scores because of No Child Left Behind, but is our nation so stupid that they can't see how many children are being left behind? Stop focusing on the test scores and focus on the fact that members of our youth are continuing to fall through the cracks by not gaining a high school diploma.
North Carolina has received praise for its high test scores, but if only 72 percent of their students graduate, the test scores are irrelevant. Does no one realize that 28 percent of students in North Carolina are not graduating?
Not to mention, states have been getting a break when it comes to the number of dropouts. Researchers have only been figuring the amounts of students who quit school in 12th grade. News flash: you can drop out before 12th grade! If states can't do a better job of producing more high school graduates, then they shouldn't be in charge of setting the target graduation rate.
There is more than enough time for the federal government to take a stand in order to make sure that our youth are fully benefiting from their educational experience. Stop focusing on test scores. Stop allowing states to set graduation targets that are insanely low. Expect more from our students; they need their education to make it in this world.
This writer can be contacted at opinion@theeastcarolinian.com.
Since 2002, No Child Left Behind has bombarded our school systems, causing both school officials and teachers to lose sight of their goals - providing students with a quality education that ultimately leads to the students obtaining a high school diploma.
Under the No Child Left Behind Act, state schools are required to show both progress toward higher standardized test scores and a higher rate of high school graduation. Here's the loophole - the states set their own graduation target.
In order to make it appear that their schools are making progress in both these criterions, states are setting their graduation rates extremely low. North Carolina currently has a graduation rate of 72 percent and has decided they must improve this rate by a 0.1 percentage point every year. Sadly, it will take nearly one hundred years for North Carolina to reach a graduation rate of 80 percent. Because No Child Left Behind has school officials concerned with producing higher test scores, states are basically turning a blind eye to all the students who are dropping out.
If there is going to be a national act, like No Child Left Behind, the federal government should set the graduation targets, not the states. Test scores should not be the focus of America's school systems. America needs to stop giving schools a pat on the back for good test scores, when one in four students is dropping out!
It is true that the school systems are pressured to improve their test scores because of No Child Left Behind, but is our nation so stupid that they can't see how many children are being left behind? Stop focusing on the test scores and focus on the fact that members of our youth are continuing to fall through the cracks by not gaining a high school diploma.
North Carolina has received praise for its high test scores, but if only 72 percent of their students graduate, the test scores are irrelevant. Does no one realize that 28 percent of students in North Carolina are not graduating?
Not to mention, states have been getting a break when it comes to the number of dropouts. Researchers have only been figuring the amounts of students who quit school in 12th grade. News flash: you can drop out before 12th grade! If states can't do a better job of producing more high school graduates, then they shouldn't be in charge of setting the target graduation rate.
There is more than enough time for the federal government to take a stand in order to make sure that our youth are fully benefiting from their educational experience. Stop focusing on test scores. Stop allowing states to set graduation targets that are insanely low. Expect more from our students; they need their education to make it in this world.
This writer can be contacted at opinion@theeastcarolinian.com.
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