The future of the USA lies with its children and far too many of
our children are failing in the one area that can make a difference
in their lives
– education. By the time they are in high school many of them
have started down their life’s path and there is little that will
change unless they can get the education they need to succeed.
The future of the USA lies with its children and far too many of our children are failing in the one area that can make a difference in their lives – education. By the time they are in high school many of them have started down their life’s path and there is little that will change unless they can get the education they need to succeed. The nation, and San Benito County, is not doing well in that respect. Yes, there are exceptions – but they are just that – rare exceptions, no one should mistake exceptions for the rule.
A review of the 2009 California Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) results for San Benito County is nothing short of painful. Not only are the scores miserable, but it also appears that the longer children stay in school, the more ground they lose. In English-Language Arts 26 percent of 9th-graders were either below or far below basic level, in 10th grade, it’s 28 percent and by 11th grade, it’s a whopping 37 percent.
While the bad numbers keep going up, the good numbers go down. In English-Language Arts, only 43 percent of 9th-graders were either proficient or advanced. In 10th grade, it had dropped to 40 percent, in 11th grade it was down to 37 percent. Does anyone notice a trend here?
Unfortunately, the students are doing no better in mathematics or science. Of the 9th graders tested for Algebra I, 65% were below or far below basic level. Of 11th-graders tested for Algebra II, 73% fell into the bottom two categories. What is this a limbo contest – a game of how low can you go?
I am just tired of the excuse list for these ongoing failures – perhaps they ought to assign each excuse a number to make them easier to reference. The State of California and federal government are pouring billions into K-12 education and, at least here, they are not getting their money’s worth. There have been about as many words written on the problem as dollars spent, but improvement, if any, has been almost invisible. At this rate, we will never catch the rest of the developed world.
What would we do if this were a failing private business or a losing sports franchise; we’d fire the management, that’s what. So, why don’t we fire the management of the education system? It’s because we do not know who the management is. If you have children in school in San Benito County, can you tell me who is ultimately responsible for their educational accomplishment? No, not the teacher, the manager – the person with the resources, authority and responsibility to make sure that your child succeeds and reaches the basic level in each course of instruction. While teachers have been front and center on the firing line, the managers have kept their heads down and maintained a low profile.Â
Meanwhile, the system just keeps churning along promising to get better, but turning out huge percentages of graduates and dropouts with marginal skills and poor prospects for the future. Those parents who really care about this issue have either taken their children to private schools or transferred to the few successful districts available to them; for high school, there is hardly anywhere else to go.
Let’s look at the mission statement for San Benito High School: “The Mission of San Benito High School is to educate all students to their highest potential so they will have the greatest range of options upon graduation.” You’ve seen the scores; do you think that SBHS is educating all students to their highest potential? One thing we know for sure, low expectations guarantees poor results.
