1 in 4 California students drops out
July 17, 2008 – 6:19 am by Nick
The California Department of Education (CDE) has released a shocking report, revealing that only a 67.6 percent graduation rate for public high school students in California. The dropout rate is a staggering 24.2 percent. It has increased 10.3 percent over the prior year.
State schools chief Jack O’Connell remarked, “I was quite shocked at how many students are falling through the cracks. … This is a crisis.”
The CDE claims that past reports were falsified by schools and districts filing a large portion of students as “transfers” to other schools, rather than dropouts. In 2008, the CDE established a new student tracking system, which counted “lost transfers” as dropouts.
The new data will lead to greater accountability but several district leaders have blamed the problem on illegal immigrants. They claim that students who are in the country illegally skewed the dropout count. Here is a diagram depicting the ethnicity dropouts.
A great solution would be to create a State HS Diploma with concrete requirements to prepare students for college. Schools must also adapt to their students.
For all the data, visit the California Department of Education website.
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