Comments on: Gates: NYC grad rates are good, but students not college-ready

By: aj

aj — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 19:57:42 +0000

my small school has “special education students, disabled students and english language learners” and still has a 95-100% graduation rate…

instead of constantly remodeling the current system lets work with what we have and improve it. this constant alteration of the system confuses, administration, faculty and staff, parents, and more importantly the students. lets work on a more comprehensive plan that will deal with external issues that students face so that schools don’t become social work facilities and can truly be a learning environment.

By: adh

adh — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 17:14:57 +0000

Small schools get to exclude special education students, disabled students and english language learners so of course their graduation rates are going to be higher.

By: aj

aj — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 06:18:05 +0000

I am a product of one of the New Vision schools that was funded by Gates and proposed by Bloomberg, and I think its one of the few successful things Bloomberg has done. I am currently in college (Georgetown University) and believe that if it weren’t for my small school and the attention and ability to grow and gain confidence, I wouldn’t be able to be doing well now in school. Gates needs to look into certain aspects of the Education system that are working and further fund them and cut funds from aspects that aren’t working. Bloomberg should also look into more accountability as he has been moving towards.

By: mista

mista — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 00:46:39 +0000

Smith – absolutely right….at best unethical, at worst criminal

F harry – a greek thing? small schools get to exclude students that would drag scores down.

gates – the devil is in the details….and in the DOE

By: F Harry Stow

F Harry Stow — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 21:01:24 +0000

Some small schools are good and some not so good. Mr. Gates’s contributions permitted the NYC small school movement to expand in 2003 just as Annenberg did in 1995. The differance between the 1990s and now is the emphasis higher test scores and graduation rates. The graduation rate cited by Mr. Gates and used by Mr. Klein and Mayor Bloomberg is statistically faulty. You cannot compare the graduation rate at a small school with 50- to 75 graduates to a large high school with 800 to 1000 graduates.

By: Smith

Smith — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 20:00:30 +0000

Let’s be very clear what’s going on in the small schools: teachers are under intense pressure to pass kids who fail their classes. I’ve seen it. I’ve done it. I’m not alone. Is Gates too dumb to see the obvious, or is he playing politics?