Hey, look at that. There's no "crisis" in boys' (or, really, anyone's) education

[Recursion]

So, first off, not exactly everybody, there is one group that's having problems:



Native Americans/Aleutian islanders are seeing a slip in high school graduation rates. We should work on that.

However, I'm always skeptical of any talk about "crisis" in American education when the facts show that it's doing a better job than at any point in history:

Here's the high school dropout rate, at an historically low level for both male and female students:



Here's the college enrollment rate, at historic highs:



Here's completion of "at least Associates' degrees" by gender:



Here's median college graduate income, incidentally (nominal dollars, so not particularly worthwhile to ponder):



Here's college graduation rates, note it's at an historic high for both male and female students:



And a somewhat more nicely-formatted presentation of the same data (and using a slightly more inclusive definition of "graduation", hence the higher percentage):



Boys aren't being "left behind" in any measurable way. Male students are performing better than they have at any point since we started keeping records. So, for that matter, is every single population and income group, with the notable exception of Native American/Aleutian Islanders. In fact, on standardized tests, African American students today outperform white students from a generation ago. That gap persists, but all cohorts are improving.

If this is "failing", we could use some more of it.

[MannyGoldstein]

1. Another fake crisis, like Social Security's impending bankruptcy

Thanks for this!

[Recursion]

11. That said, there's nothing funny about the problems facing Native American students

That is a legitimate problem, and I hope somebody can figure out how to fix it...

[MannyGoldstein]

12. Do they run their own school systems?

Likely the problems are related to poverty.

[Recursion]

13. Very good point; I have no idea

I'm just saying somebody should look at that; that's the one category of students that seems to be doing worse rather than better over time, and that's not acceptable.

[MannyGoldstein]

17. Someone should look at Massachusetts schools, too

If Arne Duncan et al were truly interested in great educational outcomes, they'd look at what Massachusetts is doing and replicate it:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x1348146

Perhaps that would help the Native Americans, too.

[alp227]

2. May I also add an anti-intellectual culture in America in general...

championed by...gasp!...MALE-dominated talk radio/Fox News promoting "old fashioned" BS like homophobia & stuff like that in the name of...tradition.

[seabeyond]

4. this graph had me thinking the anti intellectual during bushco years. that is when my boys were

standing up to their peers in middle school, about dumb.

[Recursion]

14. That's a good point, too. Though if I'm seeing it right the dip started in the mid-90s

I personally read that as a side-effect of the Clinton economy; I remember fast food restaurants in small-town Virginia back then hiring at $12 because everybody had jobs, so crappy jobs had to pay enough to attract people. Under those circumstances, the need to finish your education seems (in the short term) less important. Though I definitely think the anti-intellectualism of the W years is to blame for a lot...

[seabeyond]

3. thank you recursion. debunk this wrong info being put out. nt

[Quackers]

5. Thank you for this

The only thing I'm worried about is the rising cost for higher education. Everyone should be entitled to learn as much as they want. It shouldn't depend on if you can afford it.

[BainsBane]

6. There you go ruining a perfectly good MRA whine

Though what they focus on are grades in k-12 and higher admission rates of women into college. They operate from a presumption that men should be superior in everything, so if males lag behind in any metric, they consider it a crisis.

[Egnever]

7. I am not convinced graduating or getting a degree

Is a good measure of performance.

I do like how the graphs are trending towards equality.

[seabeyond]

8. That is what was being used by MRA to state there was a crisis. That us why they are used

Now to say it was a made created crisis

[Recursion]

15. I don't know. I've tutored high school kids in DC that would have been written off 20 years ago

But the district now finds the time and money to at least try to get them the help they need. Two of my kids were the first people in their families to finish high school -- for all my complaints about the American education system, I don't think they should be anything but incredibly proud of themselves.

[reformist2]

9. How can we bash the public school system if there's no crisis???

[Recursion]

10. Yeah, fair point

I catch some hell here for my education views, but I do try to make it clear that the "schools in crisis" rhetoric is complete BS, whether it's about male students or about teachers being "paid too much". (Though, to be fair, there really does seem to be an actual honest-to-God crisis for Native Americans/Aleutian Islanders, and I advocated doing whatever the hell it takes to fix that...)

[MerryBlooms]

16. rec & kick

Well done.

[sufrommich]

18. You mean there's no super secret feminist cabal

working within our schools to destroy our sons? The hell you say!

[seabeyond]

20. "The hell you say!" ya. that. nt

[Recursion]

21. Shocking, I know

Should I run a second regression on the data?

[lumberjack_jeff]

19. It's comforting to know that a rising tide is lifting all boats.

While most people try to give a head fake to the concept of equality, it's refreshing to see someone dispense with the pretense.

The fact that men are not getting an equal share of the education offered in this country is partly responsible for phenomena such as this;


Men today earn 30% less than their fathers did. Is the important thing equality or absolute wellbeing relative to previous generations?

DU: working for equality... but with breaks at 10:00 and 2:00.
DU: working for equality since 9:00 this morning
DU: What do we want? Equality! When do we want it? Most of the time!

[Initech]

22. The only real crisis in education is corporations and charter schools ruining it for profit.

Go away Fox News, nothing to see here.

[seabeyond]

23. Agree. That us the enemy to our kids education. Nt