My brother-in-law is a student at West Point. It's hard to get in to West Point. But it's also hard to stay in once you get there. According to this report, of the 1,197 cadets who entered West Point in the summer of 2002, 904 remained by the end of August. The loss rate of 25 percent is greater than the previous five classes, which averaged a 20 percent loss rate.
West Point makes it clear that it's a very rigorous program, and that not everyone will make it because not everyone is cut out for it.
That's OK with me. They let it be known ahead of time that not everyone can be trained to be a US Army officer. Not everyone is cut out for it.
KIPP, on the other hand, says they can take every kid and make him or her a college-bound high-school graduate. No matter who they are or what their background, KIPP says their program can work for everyone. The truth is that KIPP works for those for whom it works. As it turns out, KIPP does not work for a very large number of its students.
If KIPP could just admit that it was more like West Point and less like a community transformation center, I would be somewhat assuaged. But then KIPP would have to drop such hyperbolic statements as this from its web site:
"While fewer than one in five low-income students typically attend college nationally, KIPP’s college matriculation rate stands at nearly 80 percent for students who complete the eighth grade at KIPP. In addition, KIPP alumni have earned over $12 million in college scholarships."
Reading the statement again, you notice this phrase standing out: "KIPP’s college matriculation rate stands at nearly 80 percent for students who complete the eighth grade at KIPP." In other words, 80% of those that make it through KIPP go on to college. But how many make it through KIPP?
No comments:
Post a Comment