Only 1 of 2 students graduate high school in US cities: studyLosing half by the age of 18 doesn't leave a whole lot left to join the ranks of "the best and the brightest," does it?
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.
People are already fleeing an anti-scientific, anti-experience backlash. If we couple that existing "reverse brain drain" with a third of a generation barely developing brains to begin with, the latter is not only a source national embarrassment, but the makings of a crisis.
The fact that 75% of Detroit students fail to get diplomas should be reason enough for the summary firing of at least that many of the existing teachers and administrators in that abysmally dysfunctional school system. More frighteningly, speaking as someone who has some insight into the remaining 25%, the problem is actually worse than it already appears. Students completing 12 years of so-called education are not only inconsistent in their correct usage of the words "they're" and "there," but, seemingly, choose a given spelling purely at random.
Without substantial change, we're not going to have to worry about succeeding on a global playing field, we might not have enough players to even take the field.
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