Kerry has some interesting stats for us...

[southsider2k5]

http://www.thestauntonnewsleader.com/index.php?itemid=13

[Wong & Owens]

http://www.thestauntonnewsleader.com/index.php?itemid=13

 

 

Kerry might be full of crap, but I don't see how a census poll that says "85.whatever % of 20-24 year olds are high school graduates" backs up the opposite whatsoever. If Kerry means any people young enough to be his generation's children, that's alot more people that 20-24 year olds.

 

Maybe he was looking at Ohio State Football's graduation rate?

[KipWellsFan]

85.9 Percent Of Americans Aged 20-24 Are High School Graduates.

 

I'm not sure where Kerry got this fact but 85.9% does not accurately reflect the percentage of all people who graduate from high school.

[Texsox]

Each state report their numbers differently. Texas for example lies to themselves in their numbers. If a kid stops attending and says he plans on getting a GED, he hasn't dropped out. If he fails to ever take the GED test, he has dropped out of GED, not High School.

 

Down here in these school districts, we have a large migrant population. If they say they are heading north to a new school, there is no follow up if they ever do register with another school.

 

I was working with the school administration on an Apprenticship Program and the estimates I heard, for what common sense tells us is the drop out rate, was 50-60%. That is figured by taking all incoming Freshman then looking at those getting a high school diploma. In one racially and economically profiled population, it was estimated at 75% drop out rate.

 

I am going to assume that other areas have the same problem. How this balances with New Trier or Conant numbers and becomes I national average, I don't know. But if we can't agree on a definition of what it is to drop out, how can anyone accurately quote a number?

[NorthSideSox72]

Each state report their numbers differently. Texas for example lies to themselves in their numbers. If a kid stops attending and says he plans on getting a GED, he hasn't dropped out. If he fails to ever take the GED test, he has dropped out of GED, not High School.

 

Down here in these school districts, we have a large migrant population. If they say they are heading north to a new school, there is no follow up if they ever do register with another school.

 

I was working with the school administration on an Apprenticship Program and the estimates I heard, for what common sense tells us is the drop out rate, was 50-60%. That is figured by taking all incoming Freshman then looking at those getting a high school diploma. In one racially and economically profiled population, it was estimated at 75% drop out rate.

 

I am going to assume that other areas have the same problem. How this balances with New Trier or Conant numbers and becomes I national average, I don't know. But if we can't agree on a definition of what it is to drop out, how can anyone accurately quote a number?

 

New Trier's graduation rate was 96% or higher during the late 80's and early 90's. It was 100% some years.

[jasonxctf]

my guess is that Kerry mis-spoke and meant to say 53% dont graduate from college, not high school.

[jackie hayes]

I'm not sure where Kerry got this fact but 85.9% does not accurately reflect the percentage of all people who graduate from high school.

Each state report their numbers differently. Texas for example lies to themselves in their numbers. If a kid stops attending and says he plans on getting a GED, he hasn't dropped out. If he fails to ever take the GED test, he has dropped out of GED, not High School.

 

Down here in these school districts, we have a large migrant population. If they say they are heading north to a new school, there is no follow up if they ever do register with another school.

 

I was working with the school administration on an Apprenticship Program and the estimates I heard, for what common sense tells us is the drop out rate, was 50-60%. That is figured by taking all incoming Freshman then looking at those getting a high school diploma. In one racially and economically profiled population, it was estimated at 75% drop out rate.

 

I am going to assume that other areas have the same problem. How this balances with New Trier or Conant numbers and becomes I national average, I don't know. But if we can't agree on a definition of what it is to drop out, how can anyone accurately quote a number?

The data are self-reported. As part of the CPS, they ask the respondents if they graduated from high school. (Maybe including GED, I'm not sure what the wording is.) So it avoids the problem of different districts, states, etc w/ different definitions. It should be pretty consistent.

 

I imagine the migrants are probably, at least mostly, excluded (CPS = current population survey -- I don't know if they'd count migrants as part of the "population", and I think they'd have a hard time finding them to interview, if they did).

 

Of course, there're probably some lies in there, but I doubt it's very many. Imho, that's about the best estimate you could make.

[JUGGERNAUT]

I looked at this before & there are some surprising numbers with respect to public schools. Telander published a column on this in the Sun-Times Sunday that broke it down in terms of a major disparity of the sexes.

 

His headline stat was that there are more young black men in jail today then going to college. I've seen some public school drop out rates as high as 50% in IL. There's a site that publishes that stuff (though I've forgotten it since) & the ST does a good job & publishing the numbers once a year as well.

 

But Telander's column broke down many national numbers & they are not good at all. Boys in general are falling way behind girls in education & there doesn't seem to be any hope in breaking the trend. Telander has offered reasons but he doesn't go as far as I am willing to go probably because he loves capitalism more than I do.

 

It's pretty simple to understand why boys have fallen way behind girls & why there maybe a high trend of boys dropping out in the near future. The answer is video games. Video-games now exceed the traditional toy industry & approach $60 Billion in world-wide sales annually. The vast majority of those sales are coming from boys & young adult males.

 

Recent surveys have indicated more Americans are now spending more time on the internet than they do watching TV & the biggest growth in attracting those eyeballs has come from the gaming industry. Not just video games either. Boys & males in general again make up a large majority of that interest.

 

Now Telander choose to look at feminism in America as a root cause but that's completely ignorant of what these boys are doing with their time today. They aren't' lagging in grade school & high school because they are thinking about all the female managers in America. They lag because their time, dedication, effort, & interest is geared toward video games & the peer communication resulting from it.

 

Now that vg's have spread to the cellular & wireless industry en-masse we can expect things to get worse. Oddly enough there will be some Dem voters who read this that immediately think "blame the parents". That's always the easy out isn't it? Tell me something. Now that our state & local governments are now outsourcing work overseas because they 1) don't want to budget costs for American workers, 2) don't have confidence in American workers should we blame are ever-decreasing capacity to produce on the parents as well?

 

When does the problem become big enough to where "blame the parents" is no longer considered a worthy response?

[JUGGERNAUT]

I left out Japan. I am sure to hear someone say Japan's VG industry is even bigger than ours. How come they aren't suffering low scores among their men? Simple answer: a much more disciplined society. Cram school is normal in Japan & the family structure is such that both parents & students by & large care more about achieving success than playing games.

 

Can the same be said about America's youth? Based on Telander's numbers, no.

[NUKE_CLEVELAND]

I left out Japan.  I am sure to hear someone say Japan's VG industry is even bigger than ours.  How come they aren't suffering low scores among their men?  Simple answer: a much more disciplined society.  Cram school is normal in Japan & the family structure is such that both parents & students by & large care more about achieving success than playing games.

 

Can the same be said about America's youth?  Based on Telander's numbers, no.

 

 

I spent a year stationed in South Korea and they're an order of magnitude more obsessed with video games than Americans are. Yet still, they consistently score higher in pretty much any acedemic area than we do. I guess they manage their time better or something.

[mr_genius]

I spent a year stationed in  South Korea and they're an order of magnitude more obsessed with video games than Americans are.  Yet still, they consistently score higher in pretty much any acedemic area than we do.  I guess they manage their time better or something.

 

 

It’s not video games, that’s just silly. I played lots of games as a kid but still had academic success. You are correct about Korea and their obsession with video games.

 

The government spent billions of dollars to 'level' the playing field towards girls. Most teachers are female and don't understand the differences between male and females in the classroom. IMO our academic system needs to start concentrating more on math and English rather than social sciences. Diversity and understanding classes are a waste of school time.

[NUKE_CLEVELAND]

It’s not video games, that’s just silly. I played lots of games as a kid but still had academic success. You are correct about Korea and their obsession with video games.

 

The government spent billions of dollars to 'level' the playing field towards girls.  Most teachers are female and don't understand the differences between male and females in the classroom. IMO our academic system needs to start concentrating more on math and English rather than social sciences.  Diversity and understanding classes are a waste of school time.

 

 

If you want to blame video games for something you can say that they are a big reason kids are fatter and fatter. I say this simply becuase they dont run around and play outside anymore, opting instead to play HALO or something.

 

I totally agree that schools need to focus on the 3 Rs more than anything. When I went to school in the 80s and 90s there was none of this diversity and understanding bulls*** and myself and my peers actually got a quality education.

[mr_genius]

If you want to blame video games for something you can say that they are a big reason kids are fatter and fatter.  I say this simply becuase they dont run around and play outside anymore, opting instead to play HALO or something.

 

 

Schools like to complain about students lack of physical fitness after they completely cut physical education and recess activities. But they can't put 2 and 2 together (probably because the majority of teachers couldn't pass a simple math exam).

Edited February 2, 2006 by mr_genius

[Balta1701]

Schools like to complain about students lack of physical fitness after they completely cut physical education and recess activities.    But they can't put 2 and 2 together (probably because the majority of teachers couldn't pass a simple math exam).

Clearly the problem is too many soft drinks in public schools. SUE COKE!