I read this article this morning and was not surprised by how the DoE can manipulate statistics. They do it with class size, they do it with test scores and they do it with money.
They spend money on programs that benefit their friends in business, but then tell the UFT they don't have the resources to pay teachers and lower class size. So instead we give them more hours and days than our counterparts in the burbs.
I'm not sure they even bother with manipulating the class size figures. They just deny outright the UFT oversize class reports and announce class sizes are smaller. Lazy reporters repeat it and people who don't read Class Size Matters, like the LA Mayor, say wow, that Bloomberg does a heckuva job.
"Tweed's graduation rates appear artificially inflated. Apparently, Mayor Bloomberg and Chancellor Klein don't count dropouts as not having graduated."
Snort! Chortle!
That's what it looks like, though. And most people seem to think he's doing a great job with the schools.
Tweed is not the only one inflating graduation rates. Principals have been doing this for years. They let kids go to night school, give them the same course they are taking during the day (only call it something different) and then let them graduate on time. Bloomberg made such a big deal about ending evening school, but that program is still going on. It now meets in the late afternoons and kids are staying in their same building. Breathing + Passing Grades and graduation in many of these classes.
Commenting by HaloScan
