4 ms·

I wonder how many non-foster kids graduate high school?

bushbaba 3y ago
In California it’s ~85% of high school students graduate on average across all demographics https://www.cde.ca.gov/ds/ad/datasummary.asp https://www.cde.ca.gov/ds/ad/datasummary.asp
- giantg2 3y ago
  Every time I see these numbers I'm shocked at how it's not >98%.
  - serf 3y ago
    the high school era in ones' life has a lot of opportunity for personal hardship; in many ways it's the beginning of personal responsibility for a lot of people. in other words : it's less likely that an elementary school student has to juggle an unwanted pregnancy, an estranged family, and a job at McDonalds; it's not that uncommon later on.
    - giantg2 3y ago
      I do get that. I knew people who had a kid, family issues, substance issues, etc and still managed to graduate. I know there are probably others who wouldn't graduate in similar situations or worse ones. It still shocks me that the dropout rate is so high.
      - Waterluvian 3y ago
        I feel shocked too. But not surprised. The shock is more of a reminder that the world for many is so unlike the world for me. It’s so easy to assume everyone has approximately my experience. But it’s just so not true. So many are dealing with such an unfair hand to begin with.
      - nxx788 3y ago
        As someone who was homeless in high school (but still graduated thanks to some incredible non-familial adults), it's very easy to think, "fuck it, I'm out, I don't need this extra stress". Doing homework is real fucking hard when you don't have anywhere that's home.
  - confidantlake 3y ago
    If intelligence is distributed on a bell curve there are going to be some that can't graduate no matter how hard they work, and some more that can only graduate with a lot of hard work. Then throw in some more people that have some difficult life circumstances: parents dying, depression or other health issues, drug or alcohol problems, etc.
    - coryrc 3y ago
      This number is including the fact that we already lower standards for those on the left side of the bell curve. It's entirely the difficult life situations at play.
    - commonlisp94 3y ago
      In my experience they just stop attending, not hit a class they can't pass. There is no standard of achievement required to graduate high school besides participation.
  - SoftTalker 3y ago
    The kids who don't graduate basically have just stopped showing up. If you attend school and turn in your assignments, regardless of how poorly you do, you will graduate from a modern US highschool.
xmddmx 3y ago
The question to ask is "how many kids graduate high school vs. how many should". Turns out the answer is interesting - about 50 years ago, the graduation rate for high school was around 50%. These days it's much higher (90% or more in some areas). Does this mean the children is learning? Perhaps. It also may represent a failure of our systems - in the past, not everyone needed a high school degree to be a functional member of society, and forcing those people to "graduate" may in fact be a net loss to society. In other countries, this is explicit: people are tracked to "educational" vs. "vocational" career tracks earlier, and there is not the emphasis on graduation rates as a metric.
- gcanyon 3y ago
  > Does this mean the children is learning? <Captain America pointing> I understood that reference.
- gcanyon 3y ago
  >50 years ago...50% graduation rate cite? This seems to be saying the graduation rate was between 80 and 85% back in 1972: https://www.brookings.edu/articles/are-americas-rising-high-school-graduation-rates-real-or-just-an-accountability-fueled-mirage/ https://www.brookings.edu/articles/are-americas-rising-high-...
- User23 3y ago
  A hundred years ago graduating high school was rare. My grandfather made it all the way to 6th grade before he had to start working. And if you look at what a high school graduate applying to one of the Ivies was expected to know a century ago, it was considerably closer to today's bachelor's degree than today's high school diploma. Primary and secondary educational standards have dropped precipitously in the USA.
- watwut 3y ago
  > Does this mean the children is learning? Perhaps. Kids also drink less alcohol, commit less crime, get teenage pregnant less often. So yeah, they are likely to be learning more then in 1970.

In California it’s ~85% of high school students graduate on average across all demographics https://www.cde.ca.gov/ds/ad/datasummary.asp https://www.cde.ca.gov/ds/ad/datasummary.asp

giantg2 3y ago
Every time I see these numbers I'm shocked at how it's not >98%.
- serf 3y ago
  the high school era in ones' life has a lot of opportunity for personal hardship; in many ways it's the beginning of personal responsibility for a lot of people. in other words : it's less likely that an elementary school student has to juggle an unwanted pregnancy, an estranged family, and a job at McDonalds; it's not that uncommon later on.
  - giantg2 3y ago
    I do get that. I knew people who had a kid, family issues, substance issues, etc and still managed to graduate. I know there are probably others who wouldn't graduate in similar situations or worse ones. It still shocks me that the dropout rate is so high.
    - Waterluvian 3y ago
      I feel shocked too. But not surprised. The shock is more of a reminder that the world for many is so unlike the world for me. It’s so easy to assume everyone has approximately my experience. But it’s just so not true. So many are dealing with such an unfair hand to begin with.
    - nxx788 3y ago
      As someone who was homeless in high school (but still graduated thanks to some incredible non-familial adults), it's very easy to think, "fuck it, I'm out, I don't need this extra stress". Doing homework is real fucking hard when you don't have anywhere that's home.
- confidantlake 3y ago
  If intelligence is distributed on a bell curve there are going to be some that can't graduate no matter how hard they work, and some more that can only graduate with a lot of hard work. Then throw in some more people that have some difficult life circumstances: parents dying, depression or other health issues, drug or alcohol problems, etc.
  - coryrc 3y ago
    This number is including the fact that we already lower standards for those on the left side of the bell curve. It's entirely the difficult life situations at play.
  - commonlisp94 3y ago
    In my experience they just stop attending, not hit a class they can't pass. There is no standard of achievement required to graduate high school besides participation.
- SoftTalker 3y ago
  The kids who don't graduate basically have just stopped showing up. If you attend school and turn in your assignments, regardless of how poorly you do, you will graduate from a modern US highschool.

xmddmx 3y ago

The question to ask is "how many kids graduate high school vs. how many should". Turns out the answer is interesting - about 50 years ago, the graduation rate for high school was around 50%. These days it's much higher (90% or more in some areas). Does this mean the children is learning? Perhaps. It also may represent a failure of our systems - in the past, not everyone needed a high school degree to be a functional member of society, and forcing those people to "graduate" may in fact be a net loss to society. In other countries, this is explicit: people are tracked to "educational" vs. "vocational" career tracks earlier, and there is not the emphasis on graduation rates as a metric.

gcanyon 3y ago
> Does this mean the children is learning? <Captain America pointing> I understood that reference.
gcanyon 3y ago
>50 years ago...50% graduation rate cite? This seems to be saying the graduation rate was between 80 and 85% back in 1972: https://www.brookings.edu/articles/are-americas-rising-high-school-graduation-rates-real-or-just-an-accountability-fueled-mirage/ https://www.brookings.edu/articles/are-americas-rising-high-...
User23 3y ago
A hundred years ago graduating high school was rare. My grandfather made it all the way to 6th grade before he had to start working. And if you look at what a high school graduate applying to one of the Ivies was expected to know a century ago, it was considerably closer to today's bachelor's degree than today's high school diploma. Primary and secondary educational standards have dropped precipitously in the USA.
watwut 3y ago
> Does this mean the children is learning? Perhaps. Kids also drink less alcohol, commit less crime, get teenage pregnant less often. So yeah, they are likely to be learning more then in 1970.