Houston Community News >> Houston Schools Deal With Diversity and Dropouts
Houston, TX--
At the end of June
2007 the Supreme Court made a split 5-4 ruling that limits the ability of
schools to use race as a factor in determining student participation in academic
programs like magnet schools. Around that same time, the Alliance for Excellence
in Education released a study out of Princeton University that reports the cost
of high school drop-outs to the country over the next decade will be about $3
trillion.
Houston Schools will have to make some decisions in years to come based on both
of these results. The Supreme Court decision has been brewing for decades. While
Houston Schools do not use race as admission to magnets, the specialized schools
were started for the purpose of desegregation. And the current battle over the
issue of achieving racially balanced schools by using race as a factor is a
tense one. Houston Schools won't have to make changes to its magnets, as other
schools in the country will. But - the Houston Schools will still need to focus
on ways to address the huge racial achievement gap.
The Princeton study, conducted by Cecelia Rouse, a professor of economics and
public affairs, released some disturbing statistics for both Houston Schools and
the entire state of Texas. Individually, every high school drop-out costs the
United States $260,000. In Texas, only 66.8% of high schoolers make it to
graduation. And a 2006 USA Today article reported that less than 50% of Houston
Schools students graduate on time. In that same year the Princeton Study
reported that drop-outs cost the state of Texas over $31 billion.
What explains these numbers? Educators in Houston Schools aren't surprised by
the numbers. They have know for years facts that the study cites from numerous
sources; that high school graduates in the Houston Schools (and the nation) are
less likely to become teen parents than drop-outs; they raise healthier and
better educated children; commit less crimes; and use less public services
(welfare, food stamps) and less government healthcare. It's the cumulative cost
of these factors that make the drop-out rate so costly for Houston Schools.
How is that affected by the recent Supreme Court Ruling? The question is race.
Houston Schools face a significant gap in graduation rates between white and
non-white students. In 2006 the racial breakdown of the percentage of students
who graduated on time from Texas Schools looked like this: Asians 83%, Whites
75%, African-Americans 60% and Hispanics 25%. Houston Schools follow these
numbers closely.
Although Houston Schools magnet programs aren't currently affected by the new
ruling, expect to see more changes on the horizon. The ruling only prohibits
schools from using race as the single determining factor for admission to magnet
programs. It still leaves room for questions about- using it as one of many
factors, the role of charter schools, and the multitude of ways schools try to
achieve racial balance. The parents of Houston Schools students are torn. Some
are ready to scrap any evidence of racial profiling for use in academics. Others
fear that the elimination of attempts to balance racial mix will result in a
return to largely segregated schools where minority and low income students
suffer in the worst areas, in crumbling buildings, and with the least qualified
teachers. The future of Houston Schools' success at closing the achievement gap
is still murky. But the vision of further initiatives, court rulings, and
studies on the role of race in education is certain.
(Contributed by Patricia Hawke is a staff writer for Schools K-12, providing free, in-depth reports on all U.S. public and private K-12 schools. For more information please visit Houston Schools)