Some criticism of public schools is warranted, but they are also being criticized for not preparing all students to go to college, which is a completely unrealistic goal, because lots of people are not smart enough to study at the college level. A quote from the NYT is an example of this lack of realism:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/04/n...t-to-these-students-at-jamaica-high.htmlA Failing School? Not to These Students
By MICHAEL WINERIP
New York Times
July 3, 2011
...
Of course, it is possible that such seniors are the exceptions. As James S. Liebman, the Columbia law professor who developed the city report card, wrote in an e-mail:
�Good high schools aren�t satisfied when just a few kids get into strong colleges. They aim for all kids to do so.� Education Department officials point out that the graduation rate at Jamaica has stayed at about 50 percent for years.
But it is also possible that the deck has been stacked against Jamaica High, that the 15 �worst� high schools have been packed with the students with the worst problems. According to an analysis by the city�s Independent Budget Office, these schools have more poor children (63 percent versus 52 percent citywide), more homeless students (6 percent versus 4 percent), more special-education students (18 versus 12). For 24 percent of Jamaica High students, English is a foreign language, compared with 11 percent citywide.
The �worst� high schools are sent the eighth graders who are the furthest behind: their average proficiency score on state tests is 2.6 out of 4, compared with 2.9 citywide, and more of these students (9 percent versus 4 percent) are over age, suggesting they have had to repeat grades.
