The TEA announced the graduation rate had decreased to 80% in their latest report, down from 84% in the previous reporting period. That was supposedly due to new tighter definitions on what is a dropout. Critics are already attacking the number, claiming that the graduation rate is closer to 70% in 2006. The number of students who dropped out increased from 11,650 to nearly 25,000. The TEA says they stand behind their numbers but do nothing to explain why someone would criticize those numbers.
I don't like their answer. The TEA should immediately respond to the criticism. Show us a graph, a formula and make the critics realize awfully quick they put a decimal in the wrong place. The TEA saying "We stand by our numbers" is the same as "Because I said so" and neither is an acceptable answer.
Whether the dropout rate is 20% or 30% I want to know what is the goal? What's an acceptable amount of kids to dropout? How many are we willing to just 'write-off'? I'll land on an arbitrarily chosen 10-15% dropout rate.
Come on, Robert. You're smarter than this. Educate us. We all really want to be on your side, but you need to tell DeEtta Culbertson that the next time she gives a snide non-answer to the press you're going to fire her ass.
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And yet we have to deal with the damn billboards every 100 feet along I-35 letting us know just how great the dropout rate is in Texas.