High
School Failure Rate Called 'Frightening'
he
failure of the public education system devised by U.S. elites
has reached catastrophic proportions, despite the spending
of billions and billions of taxpayer dollars by the U.S.
Department of Education over many decades. A new study reveals
that one-third of all American high school seniors in 2006
were unable to achieve a diploma, revealing a failure rate
described by one researcher as "frightening."
The
research shows that in 14 of the country's largest urban
school districts, a majority of students fail to graduate,
according to the Editorial Projects in Education Research
Center. The research was funded by a grant from the Bill
and Melinda Gates Foundation.
The
school districts where most students fail to graduate from
high school include Detroit, Los Angeles, New York City,
Milwaukee, Miami, Memphis, Denver, Cleveland, Houston, Dallas,
and Baltimore. More than 60 percent of students fail in
three districts, Detroit, Baltimore, and New York.
In
dozens of other urban areas, the graduation rates are not
much better. Nashville's graduation rate is only 50 percent.
In Albuquerque and Chicago, the rate is just 52 percent.
The rate is only 55 percent or less in Philadelphia, Austin,
and New Orleans.
"The
findings present a bleak picture," reported Greg Toppo
of USA Today.
Christopher
Swanson, director of the EDE Research Center that published
the findings, agrees.
"Our
research paints a much starker picture of the challenges
we face in high school graduation. When 30 percent of our
ninth-graders [ultimately] fail to finish high school with
a diploma, we are dealing with a crisis that has frightening
implications for our future," he said.
The
research is regarded by many in the field as eye-opening.
"It's
going to help people understand that we can't deny or ignore
this crisis anymore," said Ross Weiner of the Education
Trust, an education reform advocacy group.
Presidents
- whether Democrat or Republican - at least since Richard
Nixon have all pledged to improve education. This year,
the budget of the federal Department of Education, which
was created more than 30 years ago under President Jimmy
Carter, is $89 billion.
Researchers
at Harvard University report that passage of President George
W. Bush's No Child Left Behind Act aimed at improving education
has so far had no beneficial effect on student academic
performance.
