The Peregrin Falcon

The current state of our economy and what seems like an endless amount of government hands in our pockets on an increasing scale has prompted me to write this post. In conjunction with the obvious problems on a national scale my local school district is joining with the state to propose a state amendment that would prohibit the state from taking money from education.

In an economic downturn that means that the rest of the state suffers, but education is ok. I have to ask my self “Really,? Is education more important than say Highway Patrol? or Transportation? or Water/Sewer Maintenance? or Commerce?” Do we really think that when times are tough that everything else is second to Education? So, I wanted to take one slice of the premise for the amendment and dissect it a little further. It is the contention of many in power today that more money equals more high school graduates. Having more high school graduates is supposed to equal more success in the market and more business, etc.

The question for me is “Does more money equal more graduates?” To answer the question, I didn’t have to look very far. In fact with some help from the U.S. Census Bureau and the pro everything education EdWeek.org I was able to see quite clearly that simply putting more money into the system will not necessarily produce more graduations. That’s right, it is terribly difficult to find ANY report that lists costs per student next to graduation rates for a simply, flat comparison. So, I made one.

The following report lists the graduation rates for each state in 2006 and the U.S. Census data of spending for US elementary and Secondary schools during the 2006-2007 fiscal year.

CostPerStudentComparison

You may notice something that became very clear to me. Initially, it looked as if what had been said was true. Of the schools performing under the average (less than average graduation rates) 72% had under spent the average and only 28% had over spent. Right out of the box this would be a great case for spending more to get more.

However, upon further looking, I found that of the schools that over performed compared to the average 58% had under spent, leaving 42% as the over spenders. In case you missed it, let me rephrase. Out of 51 states (including DC, I know it is not a state) 19 of them spent under the average and out performed the average graduation rate; while 13 under spent and under performed.

Clearly there is not a direct correlation between spending (i.e. Money) and results (i.e. Graduates) and so like most things in life it is more complex than a cursory glance would suggest.

I know that this will not be popular with the NEA leadership. I know that someone will say the teachers in the under spend out perform bracket are low balling tests and thus getting more results; or just passing bad students.

If that were so, why is it such a small percent of the majority that are over spending and getting over average results? Wouldn’t the teachers want to hold back the kids to the numbers would play out in their favor? I think the teachers are trying and are not short changing to get more money or pass more students.

What it all boils down to is this simple fact; more money does not necessarily equal more graduations. In the coming months, many school districts will call for more money, as they have done annually for nearly a hundred years. In this time of economic hardship, let’s stop using children as political capital and start taking real-factual consideration of the situation and be able to say no, not this year. We need more graduations, and that will not come from more money each and every year.

The answer to getting more graduations is a long and complex set of discussions; so for now, I am saying enough is enough.

I recently had a birthday and wanted to share some numbers that make me think.

Right now with the world population at approximately 6 billion you share the same
birthday with 16,438,356 other people. In America that is about 890,410 based on a population of 325 million.
However, if you Google the term “How many people share my birthday”, you will get 505,000,000 results or about 567
results for each person who actually shared your birthday in the U.S.

And just to make you feel that much older….

The Beloit College Mindset List for the Class of 2010

1.The Soviet Union has never existed and therefore is about as scary as the student union.
2.They have known only two presidents.
3.For most of their lives, major U.S. airlines have been bankrupt.
4.Manuel Noriega has always been in jail in the U.S.
5.They have grown up getting lost in “big boxes.”
6.There has always been only one Germany.
7.They have never heard anyone actually “ring it up” on a cash register.
8.They are wireless, yet always connected.
9.A stained blue dress is as famous to their generation as a third-rate burglary was to their parents’.
10.Thanks to pervasive headphones in the back seat, parents have always been able to speak freely in the front.
11.A coffee has always taken longer to make than a milkshake.
12.Smoking has never been permitted on U.S. airlines.
13.Faux fur has always been a necessary element of style.
14.The Moral Majority has never needed an organization.
15.They have never had to distinguish between the St. Louis Cardinals baseball and football teams.
16.DNA fingerprinting has always been admissible evidence in court.
17.They grew up pushing their own miniature shopping carts in the supermarket.
18.They grew up with and have outgrown faxing as a means of communication.
19.”Google” has always been a verb.
20.Text messaging is their email.
21.Milli Vanilli has never had anything to say.
22.Mr. Rogers, not Walter Cronkite, has always been the most trusted man in America.
23.Bar codes have always been on everything, from library cards and snail mail to retail items.
24.Madden has always been a game, not a Superbowl-winning coach.
25.Phantom of the Opera has always been on Broadway.
26.”Boogers” candy has always been a favorite for grossing out parents.
27.There has never been a “skyhook” in the NBA.
28.Carbon copies are oddities found in their grandparents’ attics.
29.Computerized player pianos have always been tinkling in the lobby.
30.Non-denominational mega-churches have always been the fastest growing religious organizations in the U.S.
31.They grew up in mini-vans.
32.Reality shows have always been on television.
33.They have no idea why we needed to ask “…can we all get along?”
34.They have always known that “In the criminal justice system the people have been represented by two separate yet equally important groups.”
35.Young women’s fashions have never been concerned with where the waist is.
36.They have rarely mailed anything using a stamp.
37.Brides have always worn white for a first, second, or third wedding.
38.Being techno-savvy has always been inversely proportional to age.
39.”So” as in “Sooooo New York,” has always been a drawn-out adjective modifying a proper noun, which in turn modifies something else
40.Affluent troubled teens in Southern California have always been the subjects of television series.
41.They have always been able to watch wars and revolutions live on television.
42.Ken Burns has always been producing very long documentaries on PBS.
43.They are not aware that “flock of seagulls hair” has nothing to do with birds flying into it.
44.Retin-A has always made America look less wrinkled.
45.Green tea has always been marketed for health purposes.
46.Public school officials have always had the right to censor school newspapers.
47.Small white holiday lights have always been in style.
48.Most of them never had the chance to eat bad airline food.
49.They have always been searching for “Waldo.”
50.The really rich have regularly expressed exuberance with outlandish birthday parties.
51.Michael Moore has always been showing up uninvited.
52.They never played the game of state license plates in the car.
53.They have always preferred going out in groups as opposed to dating.
54.There have always been live organ donors.
55.They have always had access to their own credit cards.
56.They have never put their money in a “Savings & Loan.”
57.Sara Lee has always made underwear.
58.Bad behavior has always been getting captured on amateur videos.
59.Disneyland has always been in Europe and Asia.
60.They never saw Bernard Shaw on CNN.
61.Beach volleyball has always been a recognized sport.
62.Acura, Lexus, and Infiniti have always been luxury cars of choice.
63.Television stations have never concluded the broadcast day with the national anthem.
64.LoJack transmitters have always been finding lost cars.
65.Diane Sawyer has always been live in Prime Time.
66.Dolphin-free canned tuna has always been on sale.
67.Disposable contact lenses have always been available.
68.”Outing” has always been a threat.
69.Oh, The Places You’ll Go by Dr. Seuss has always been the perfect graduation gift.
70.They have always “dissed” what they don’t like.
71.The U.S. has always been studying global warming to confirm its existence.
72.Richard M. Daley has always been the Mayor of Chicago.
73.They grew up with virtual pets to feed, water, and play games with, lest they die.
74.Ringo Starr has always been clean and sober.
75.Professional athletes have always competed in the Olympics.

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I have decided to add a few of my own.

1.There has never been Coke Classic and New Coke; it’s always been just Coke.
2.They (thankfully) have no idea what Zima is.
3.Star Trek The Next Generation is that old show Dad likes.
4.Cable TV has never had a separate receiver in their house or needed a corded channel changing box.
5.The fact that a personal computer can be on their lap at all times is nothing new or exiting.
6.They have never had to use microfiche as a current research tool.
7.Bosnia has always been a republic.
8.John Gotti has always been a convicted felon.
9.They were born when Microsoft released 3.1.
10.Depo-Provera has always been legal.
11.The Church of England has always had female priests.
12.The breakup of Prince Charles and Princess Diana has always been history.
13.Sam Kinison,Sam Walton,Isaac Asimov,Dick York,Benny Hill,Lawrence Welk,and Anthony Perkins have always been dead.
14.They have no idea where the beef is or why one would want to know.
15.Columbine happened when they were seven.
16.September 11th happened when they were nine.
17.Jim Carrey has always been a movie star.