The State: Clueless on Dropout Rate
The State newspaper continues to illustrate a preponderance of ignorance in it’s article, “No easy explanation for S.C. dropout rate.”
This article attempts to put a perplexing face on a very simple problem: social values. With a failing education system that refuses to teach simple morals and ethics and parents who don’t spend the time and effort to provide moral and ethical guidance for their children, the exceedingly high dropout rate in South Carolina is perfectly understandable.
To start with, consider the utter worthlessness of South Carolina’s government education system.
Although not the magical panacea presented by many, the restoration of decency and propriety in our state will - over a generation or two - go a long way to solving this problem (and many others). For quicker solutions, implement tuition tax credits so some of these dropouts can go to a decent school. Amazingly enough, there’s no evidence that this study includes any data from private schools. Yep, if the parents are paying money out the wazoo for their children to go to a good school, you can bet they won’t accept their children wasting it by dropping out!
Posted on Wed, Aug. 23, 2006
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No easy explanation for S.C. dropout rate
Study rules out single parents, poverty, tough graduation criteria
By BILL ROBINSON
brobinson@thestate.com
* Monitor Group’s report (10-page pdf)
* Study’s findings
* Charter schools fare poorly in study
South Carolina’s worst-in-the-nation dropout rate cannot be explained by high poverty levels, the number of single-parent households, or rigorous graduation requirements, according to a study commissioned by S.C. business leaders.
The report released Tuesday also contained good news.
Scores on a nationally recognized test show S.C. elementary and middle school students made gains over the past decade, the study conducted by the Boston-based Monitor Group says.
The challenge, Greenville banker Mack Whittle said, is to figure out ways to sustain that momentum into high school and beyond “without relaxing our standards.”
Whittle, chief executive officer of Carolina First and the past president of the S.C. Chamber of Commerce, arranged for the bank’s foundation to underwrite the study on behalf of several business groups.
The goal, Whittle said, was to capture an unvarnished picture of South Carolina public schools.
The report says: “The quality of student performance in the state is typically on par with the (national) average, and improving more rapidly, whereas the quantity of students produced is well below the U.S. average, and falling further behind.”
Whittle said the coalition of business leaders he represents sought a study that would show how the state’s school system stacks up against other states.
“This was not done for political reasons,” Whittle said. “We now have a benchmark” that has identified “the areas where we need to spend more time on.”
The consultants focused on identifying statistics that would allow for national comparisons, but did not analyze existing programs or strengths or weaknesses of policies.
Because standardized tests administered annually to students in grades three through eight are unique to South Carolina, those scores cannot be compared with the performance of children in other states. The same is true for high school exit exams.
So the Monitor Group compared scores of fourth- and eighth-graders on reading/language arts and math tests sanctioned by the federal government. Scores on the SAT, a college entrance test roughly two-thirds of college-bound South Carolinians take annually, were part of the formula.
Gains on both have been dramatic, although the lower grades rank at the national average and the annual SAT average score remains among the nation’s lowest.
“We’re not the worst in the country,” Whittle said. “We’re making some improvements.”
The consultants also looked at eight studies and determined the most accurate estimate of South Carolina’s graduation rate is 53 percent, although others have put it at 50 percent or lower.
South Carolina requires high school graduates to complete 24 credits. It is one of four states with that standard. The standard is frequently cited as a possible reason for the state’s high dropout rate, but the study dispelled that theory. Other states with similar course requirements have better graduation rates.
The Monitor Group also took into account poverty, parents’ education, single-parent families, racial mix and absenteeism — all factors that could be compared state-to-state — to gauge how South Carolina’s graduation measured up nationally.
It found:
• Eleven states “have more children in poverty, but still have a higher graduation rate.”
• Twelve states had a better graduation rate in cases where the head of the household is a high school dropout.
• Nine states with high teen pregnancy rates had better graduation rates.
State Superintendent of Education Inez Tenenbaum said the report was no surprise.
“It’s good to have an outside group look at it,” she said. “It verifies where our strengths are and where we need to improve.”
She and Whittle pointed to recent state-sanctioned initiatives targeting truancy and curriculum changes to make high school instruction more relevant to individual student interests. Both are in the early stages.
Tenenbaum also said she plans to lobby the Legislature to fund programs that do a better job of prepping students for college.
Whittle said business leaders plan to update the report to monitor scores, but didn’t say what further involvement the business community might have.
