The 'Zero Dropout' Miracle: Alas! Alack! A Texas Tall Tale

The 'Zero Dropout' Miracle: Alas! Alack! A Texas Tall Tale: "ROBERT KIMBALL, an assistant principal at Sharpstown High School, sat smack in the middle of the 'Texas miracle.' His poor, mostly minority high school of 1,650 students had a freshman class of 1,000 that dwindled to fewer than 300 students by senior year. And yet � and this is the miracle � not one dropout to report!"

No Child Left Behind is working great. You just have to redefine 'child' and 'left behind' and it's a massive success. And to continue a theme from last week.

Pressure? Some compare it to working under the old Soviet system of five-year plans. In January, just before the scandal broke, Abelardo Saavedra, deputy superintendent, unveiled Houston's latest mandates for the new year. "The districtwide student attendance rate will increase from 94.6 percent to 95 percent," he wrote. "The districtwide annual dropout rate will decrease from 1.5 percent to 1.3 percent."

Wow, looks like progress will continue.