20 PERCENT OF CALIFORNIA HIGH SCHOOLERS FAIL TO GRADUATE OR IS IT REALLY 32% WITH FUZZY MATH. For all the millions spent, didn't we just wind up leaving them behind, anyway?

In yet another affirmation to the failure of the current system of public education, the California State Department of Education released its report on last year's dropout numbers showing a whopping twenty percent official dropout rate. And yet the graduation rate was only 68 percent. The charts clarify a graduation rate of 68 percent with an "other" category of 11 percent that comprise of 5th year seniors, deceased students, etc... I call that figure a failure to graduate which means that the failure to graduate figure should really be 32%, not 20%, don't you think? In true head-in-the-sand optimism State Superintendent Jack O'Connell said he was pleased that the rate had dropped one percent over the previous year. That figure is about 7000 students dropping out per day. According to the CCTimes figures dropout rates for the nearby districts were as follows: Antioch: 26.2% Martinez: 6% Mt. Diablo: 23.6% Pittsburg: 26.5% San Ramon Valley: 3.1% And so I ask, with all the millions spent on educationally fuzzy logic materials and programs designed to raise the scores and motivate the students, why are the students just not motivated? Could it be that the system does not work? Could it be in need of a complete overhaul? Should it be that politicians should not decide what educational practices are best? On this day, the day of the teacher, I see an obvious dichotomy between what teachers do, for the most part very well despite their hands being tied, and what educational administration sees as a need for change. With all the pink slipped teachers paying the price of the state failure to budget accordingly, and all the DATA showing how poorly our education process is, at what point will teachers get a say in how to motivate and teach students? At what point does the public shout out "enough is enough" and demand a total overhaul, demand community schools and an end to the screwy funding system that is killing us in the global marketplace by killing the desire for our students to excel. MisterWriter