Four Mountain State high schools have made a dubious list of places nationwide "where no more than 60 percent of the students who start as freshmen make it to their senior year," The Associated Press reports.
Duval High School in Lincoln County, Big Creek High School in McDowell County and Matewan High School in Mingo County all made the list, though as "small rural schools where the beginning enrollment for the class of 2006 was fewer than 100 students."
But rounding out West Virginia's presence on this list is Robert C. Byrd High School in Harrison County, where 131 of the 270 fall-enrolled students graduated, less than 50 percent.Johns Hopkins analyzed U.S. Department of Education data for AP and found 1,700 regular or vocational high schools nationwide that fit this lamentable category, 12 percent of all such schools.
"Washington hasn't focused much attention on the problem," AP reports. "The No Child Left Behind Act, for example, pays much more attention to educating younger students. But that appears to be changing."
2 comments:
But the state education guy gets in trouble for speaking a harsh truth about the 4-wheelin', dope-smokin', pill-poppin', unmarried & pregnant people in Lincoln County (OK, I added to the statement). He didn't go far enough, it's all over WV, particularly in the southern counties.
The big question: What is the most accurate predictor of high school graduation? Answer: The education level of the mother of the student. So, maybe a place to start is by keeping the girls in school then figuring out a way to keep the boys, too. Something dramatic needs to happen.
Not to excuse anyone for poor performance, but isn't it true that Duval High School closed two years ago?
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