I’ll be slightly crass and point to my recent take on the Duke lacrosse mess for Reason. Got lotsa email on that one, much positive, which is a change. Keep on eye on things in Durham, something is gonna snap.
Back in Charlotte, Tara Servatius managed to perfectly cut through the spin that CMS gave its end-of-year test scores:
There are now only four high schools out of the 17 in the system where at least 70 percent of students pass their tests. Last year, there were five.
That’s the bottom-line, is it not? Four high schools that barely pass a very easy test. In a system where almost half drop out. And even fewer would graduate if the district enforced its own rules on missing and disrupting class.
How many kids who start CMS wind up with a meaningful HS diploma from CMS? Seriously — best guess. Maybe 30-35 percent? Less?
You’d think something migh snap in Charlotte, too.