California Public Education

"Analysts says that high schools send the CSU thousands of students who aren’t prepared to succeed academically. In fall 2017, almost 40 percent of the system’s new freshmen had to take remedial English or math."

Were it not so incredibly serious, this quote from an article in the San Diego Union-Tribune might be shrugged off as not being possibly true.  Most probably, however, the result will be teacher unions attempting to discredit the information, blaming the lack of money for student poor performance, and otherwise working to shift attention from an indisputable fact: California public education fails families.

Consider for a moment the information cited in the quote.  40 percent of those admitted to the California State University (CSU) system required remediation.  That is forty percent of those admitted, meaning the students had grades, scores, and other achievements to be accepted to one of the CSU universities.  What about the countless students suffering through in California public education whose grades and scores were insufficient to earn university admission?

Continuing, a compelling data point would be the university graduation rate for students falling within that forty percent requiring remediation.  How many actually earn a college degree, whether it takes four or six or twenty years?  If requiring remediation, it is reasonable to predict their overall academic preparedness is highly suspect.

Maybe the remediation, drop out, and failure rates among students who are products of the California public education system contribute to the increases in admissions to the CSU and UC systems for out of state and foreign students.  Admission increases in those demographics probably help shore up the university graduation rates, which otherwise would be held down by California students.

At this point it is essential to not blame the students.  They are products of failed education policies.  Placed in the right school environments, with strong academic programs, students (including those from low income and ethnic/racial minorities) can and do succeed.  The Preuss School UCSD is a perfect example.

Mentioning the Preuss School highlights the growth of charter schools in California.  When public education fails their children, families look for alternatives.  Those who can pay for private schools.  Those who can't look to charters.  Yet charters are under attack in California, as illustrated by demands made by teacher unions in Los Angeles and Oakland.  Though the unions may scream and shout; attempt to obfuscate; and limit the number of charter schools (their educational competition), it is irrefutable that if public education worked, families would not be seeking out alternatives.

The bottom line is horrible.  When the California public education system produces high school graduates unprepared for academic success in its universities, even after 40 percent of freshmen receive remediation, the only possible conclusion is that this taxpayer funded education system is a failure.