Published on Tuesday, July 22, 2008
By Assemblyman Tony Mendoza
STATE Superintendent of Public Instruction, Jack O'Connell, said it best after announcing that new state data on dropout rates indicates one in four students quit high school altogether; He said, "This is a crisis."
What this new data from the state's newly revamped student tracking system demonstrates is that previous numbers on the dropout problem were off and misleading. Under the old system the state's average dropout rate was about 14 percent while the more accurate number revealed recently is closer to 25 percent.
So what does this all mean? Well, several things. To begin, we need to start with the basic question: why do students drop out?
As a former elementary school teacher in the Los Angeles Unified School District, I saw a steady flow of students come to school and leave before moving on to the next grade. For some, family issues like divorce or lack of affordable housing were factors in their departure
Read Full Article...
Comment/Review this Podcast:
Give us your feedback
Pasadena Star-News is interested in hearing what you think about our Podcasts.
You can give us your feedback by filling out our Audience Survey.
RSS
