Bad students are pushed out of New York City high schools, reports the Times. That raises test scores and graduation rates, while hiding the extent of academic problems. The official drop-out rate of 20 percent could be more like 25 to 30 percent if students sent to GED programs were included. (Overall, only half of New York City students earn a public high school diploma or GED in four years.)

Students are pushed out for cutting classes and failing to earn credits, says the Times, which implies these are not good reasons to send students to alternative programs.

In many ways, Cynthia Boachie is typical of the pushouts. She was 17 when a counselor told her she could no longer attend De Witt Clinton High School. She had been in one too many fights, and missed one too many classes.

The repetition of “one” is deceptive. She was in more than one fight and cut more than one class; her academic skills are so low that she’s years away from earning a GED. But the Times would have preferred she stay at DeWitt, where she “thought she was doing OK.”

Andres Paez, 18, was advised to move on after four years at John F. Kennedy High School in the Bronx, where, because of frequent absences, he had accumulated only enough credits to be considered a sophomore.

“They said you’re not making it, and no matter how hard you work, you’re not going to make it, so there’s no point in your trying anymore,” Mr. Paez said.

Mr. Paez moved from the huge high school building to the equivalency class in the red trailer out back — a program open only to those with relatively good math and reading skills. Those who get an equivalency diploma in such programs are counted as graduates of the school, just like those who get Regents diplomas.

Mr. Paez did well there. He started the class in February and got his certificate in April. Still, he said, if anyone had told him that he could have stayed in school longer and gotten a Regents diploma, he probably would have done so.

“I didn’t know you could stay in school until you were 21,” said Mr. Paez, who is looking for a job.

Raise your hand if you think Paez could have earned a Regents diploma. Anyone? Raise your hand if you think it’s too bad he didn’t stay in high school till he turned 21.

Of course, there’s a shell game going on here. Principals have an incentive to count drop-outs as transfers and to get trouble-making truants off campus. But the story’s premise — students should stay in mainstream high schools even if they’re not attending, behaving or learning — seems crazy to me. They wouldn’t graduate; they’d just make it harder for teachers to teach and for other students to learn. What the district needs is better record-keeping and better alternative programs.

Jill Chaifetz, executive director of Advocates for Children, thinks more students would earn a diploma if they were encouraged to stay in high school till they turned 21.

“Instead of calling kids and saying, `You’re not going to make it so you should leave,’ ” she said, “it would be a completely different conversation if you called them in and said, `You won’t be able to graduate in four years, but you have seven years, so let’s talk about a long-term plan that will give you the enrichment and services you need to help you get to graduation.’ “

Seven years in high school. Yes, low-achieving truants will go for that.

Perhaps New York City will build married student housing for its superannuated elementary, middle and high school students, as Scrappleface suggests.

Stan Brown passed a back-to-school display while shopping with his little boy. His son asked for crayons.

The box of crayons said “24 school quality crayons.”

I have to confess that I wondered for a moment whether “school quality” should be a selling point or a disclaimer.

Perhaps “school quality” means the crayons are edible. Or is that paste?

I remember my kindergarten school supply list. We were told to buy the smallest box of crayons: I think it had the six primary colors plus black, brown, white and gray. Crayola was the only socially acceptable brand. Only first graders could bring the 32-color box. (I think it was 32.) I remember a first-grade conversation about “siena” and our joy at finding “flesh.” Crayola now sells “multicultural” crayons in racially diverse flesh tones.

Some of us first graders secretly brought pointed scissors, though they were supposed to be reserved for second graders and up. These days, they’re probably expelling first graders for bringing pointed scissors.

Arnold Kling’s school would teach free-market economics — and common sense.

Giving up on reform
A public school parent and education writer, John Branston followed Memphis’ public schools closely. For 22 years, he kept hoping the next superintendent would be the one to turn around the system. Now, he’s given up on top-down reform. He thinks charter schools are the only hope.

If you’re smart enough to get into a prestige college, you’re smart enough to succeed without college, writes William Baldwin in Forbes.

Maybe a B.A. is worth real money because it signals to employers that the job candidate is capable. If so, there ought to be some way to send this signal without blowing $160,000 on four years of liberal arts courses. Think of all the savings to society if Yale were willing to sell, for a mere $16,000, a certificate saying that such-and-such an applicant was duly admitted but chose not to attend.

Yale won’t do it? Okay, some entrepreneur could step in with a company called Virtual Sheepskin. Send off your SAT scores and an essay to Virtual, and get a piece of paper saying you are Ivy League material.

Some trades — professor of gender studies — require academic training, writes Baldwin, but software, journalism and bricklaying are best learned on the job.

The Philosophical Cowboy reckons that’s signalling theory.

Summer schlock
Classics are out as summer reading. Teachers are more likely to assign popular books by authors like Barbara Kingsolver, Dave Eggers or John Grisham. OK, I can see why Shakespeare might not be the best choice for solo summer readers, but why not tell students to enjoy Jane Eyre or Tale of Two Cities or Hemingway’s short stories? I think it’s because the teachers making these assignments don’t enjoy reading literature themselves.

Learning from charters
New Democrats are willing to learn charter school lessons. Among other things, Nelson Smith touts Project for School Innovation, which shares effective teaching practices, and The Accountability Project, created by a consortium of San Diego County charter schools to gather, analyze and use data.

Candid camera in the classroom
Some British teachers think classroom webcams will solve behavior problems by letting parents see how their little angels are acting up in class.

Webcams have already been introduced in a small number of nurseries. (Simon) Smith, a teacher at Sweyne Park comprehensive in Rayleigh said the experiment should be extended throughout the school system.

He said: “Bad behaviour in class is a big issue throughout the school system, but teachers have to handle it on their own. If pupils knew their parents could see how they were behaving then they would think twice about disrupting classes.”

Really? The kids who are creating the most havoc probably have parents who are the least likely to tune in to the Fourth Grade Follies. Parents who do watch are more likely to criticize the teacher than to side with her against their own child.

Classroom cameras also would make it easier for principals or other outside evaluators to monitor teachers’ performance, documenting problems on tape. Some teachers would welcome more feedback; most would prefer to know when the principal is in the room.

Kimberly Swygert thinks teachers should control their classrooms.

This webcam idea puts the burden back on parents to be aware of what their kids are doing ’round the clock, and leaves the door open for schools to avoid the responsibility for imposing standards and discipline altogether.

Some schools require a parent of a misbehaving child to sit in class with him for a day. The inconvenience and embarrassment are a plus.

Selling science
Science isn’t attracting girls — or boys either. This Christian Science Monitor article fumbles for a reason.

“Scientists are opinionated people,” says Michelle Thaller, an astronomer at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, Calif. “The point is to prove the establishment wrong. And that’s the single biggest challenge facing women in science: You’re expected to act aggressively, and nobody trains you for that.”

Actually, I think many kids think scientists are fact-accumulating drones, not aggressive challengers of received wisdom. They agree with a girl at an IBM-sponsored science and technology camp. She wants to be a lawyer.

“Science is boring; I want to argue with people, just like Reese Witherspoon,” Karyn says, referring to the actress who played a Harvard Law School student in the film “Legally Blonde.”

Science is often taught poorly, if at all, in elementary and middle schools. Kids get a lot of tree hugging with very little science. In high school, biology tends to be taught by teachers who know enough about biology to make it interesting; chemistry and physics teachers don’t always know their subjects, much less how to reach students. Except for biology, which is quite popular, science is for geeks.

Update: Stephen Thomas writes that the humanities and sciences are not polar opposites:

I work in multimedia, in particular in the development of 3d immersion environments, or what I prefer to call the Holodeck. I’m a Star Trek fan. The sciences and humanities are merging in ways that seem of no interest to those in English and Education departments. . . .

My field demands people who can combine the talents of programming, script writing, musical composition, video development and just plain general computer smarts. It’s a very demanding field, and yes it does demand a lot of rote learning.

I think that you are misdirecting young people by implying that such work, in essence, lacks “glamour.” It does not. I use multimedia in my other work arena. I’m a professional musician. I see clearly that performance in the future will take place within the virtual environment, and I’m going to be one of the first to get there.

I meant that science is perceived as being geeky. Kids (and their teachers) don’t understand that they could do cool, creative things if they learn math, chemistry and physics.

Bridge to the future
Taught by high school and college students, low-income middle-schoolers prepare to succeed in high school and college. Brendan Miniter writes about Summerbridge in the Wall St. Journal.