Roots of Failure

Graduation in the Eye of the Beholder

Erratic record-keeping that varies from state to state makes it impossible for Americans to find out how schools in one place stack up against schools elsewhere. That is true for even the most basic comparisons. The No Child Left Behind Act, passed by Congress four years ago, was supposed to change all that by forcing states to file clear and accurate school performance information with the federal government in exchange for education dollars. But despite a lot of rhetoric to the contrary, the national record-keeping effort is still a mess.

In some ways, things have gotten worse. States are manipulating school data to avoid unflattering comparisons and to elude the scrutiny of the Department of Education, which is charged by law with enforcing new federal requirements.

Right now, the government can't even tell how many American students are dropping out of high school — which is a crucial indicator of how well the schools are doing their jobs.

I dispute this. While the statistics are, in fact, a mess, the reasons why students drop out don't accrue solely to the schools. This is a complex, societal problem and the family, the community and the schools are all part of the failure. The schools can't solve this alone.