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Ask the Superintendent - Feb. 15, 2006
On Monday of this week, the State Education
Department released data indicating the number of
students completing their high school education in
four years has fallen Statewide. The data shows 36%
of the students statewide failed to obtain their
diploma in four years. In the Hudson Valley it was
21% and, in Goshen specifically, it was 18.4%. At
first blush, one might begin to ask what are our
schools doing? Are they failing our students? This
thought might possibly be reinforced by catchy
headlines and newspaper phrases that read: “Diploma
Debacle,” “Sheepskin Shortage,” and “Graduation
Rates Down.”
Truth be told, the graduation rates being cited are
for the cohort of students who entered ninth grade
in 2001 and did not graduate in a four-year period.
From my perspective, that begs the question: And
your point?
Who is to say all students must graduate in a
four-year period? That may have been the expectation
a few years back, but with new State Education
Department requirements for testing and increased
academic standards on both the state and local
level, it is impossible and improbable that all
students will complete their course of study in four
years.
Students learn at different rates, in different
ways, and have different skill levels, hence the
term Differentiated Instruction. Yet they are all
being asked to meet the same academic standards.
They are not all the same and it is only natural
some students will need more time to complete their
high school program.
Educators knew this was going to happen a number of
years ago when the State Education Department first
announced the requirement that all students must
meet the same academic standards. We knew it would
take some students longer than the “traditional four
years” and also that more students would become
frustrated, leave school, and opt for other programs
like the GED.
The State Education Department has required, and we
now have the technical ability to compile data on
everything from diagnostic surveys of students’
strengths and weaknesses, to tracking students from
school to school in the State by means of a unique
identification number. In fact, the State Education
Department now mandates all schools to employ a Data
Administrator to keep up with the endless supply of
data (of course, they offer no funds to assist with
this expense and it must be financed by local
initiative). Most of this data is an excellent tool
in assisting us to help students succeed. However,
it can also be misinterpreted.
So, I ask again, what is wrong with not graduating
in four years? Those of us who have had “kids” in
college often observed as that four-year experience
grew into five or six years. The most important
consideration is the number of students who stay in
school to get their diploma. I personally believe as
requirements continue to increase we are going to
see more and more students take five years to
graduate. It is very likely that the Department of
Education in Washington will in the near future
pressure the States to add additional requirements
in math and science to high school course offerings.
Most students will be able to meet the additional
standards in four years. However, we have to allow
for those students who will need more time, and not
label these students or the school districts as
being less then successful.
Earning a high school diploma is still a true
predictor of student success. Keeping our kids in
school, learning, and working hard to reduce the
drop out rate will best serve our students. We
should always be concerned and vigilant about
students leaving school due to academic frustration
and less concerned about whether or not it takes
students five years to graduate.
Roy Reese
Superintendent of Schools
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