MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- Nearly half of all students in Milwaukee Public Schools skipped school five or more times a semester, and a report issued Thursday said the district's efforts to reduce truancy have had mixed results.
The Legislative Audit Bureau report found Milwaukee's truancy rate of 46 percent was five times higher than the state average of just over 9 percent. The state's 20 largest school districts accounted for nearly 75 percent of habitually truant students, the report said.
The report examined truancy rates for the 2006 school year at 425 public schools and issued recommendations on how to combat it.
Unexcused absences often are associated with poor academic performance, delinquency, criminal behavior and eventually dropping out of school.
The truancy rate has remained relatively constant statewide since 1998, even though nearly $2 million in federal money has been given to eight districts, including Milwaukee, with high rates.
Districts across Wisconsin have taken a number of steps to address the problem, including having social workers at schools and developing alternative programs to help trouble students, the report said.
Milwaukee has run a program since 1993 with the police department designed to cut down on truancy.
Even so, the report found mixed results.
A study of students in Milwaukee showed that even after steps were taken to reduce truancy, only 33 percent came to school more often while 61 percent skipped more. Attendance for the rest was unchanged.
Three of six Milwaukee schools that received federal money to reduce truancy actually saw absences increase over the previous year, the report said.
A spokeswoman for Milwaukee schools did not immediately return a message seeking comment.
The Audit Bureau issued a series of recommendations, including monitoring truancy at every grade, identifying alternative programs to help truant high schoolers graduate, involve parents and guardians, and collaborate with community service providers.
classicman2
09-12-08, 10:09 AM
I think it's a good policy.
Goat3001
09-12-08, 11:10 AM
I don't know about this. Seems like a tough situation. On one hand, the government can give less money to these schools. The schools would fire some faculty and replace them with people that don't care enough to keep these kids from being absent.
Give them more money and it doesn't seem to be helping either since truancy has gone up. At least with giving them more money you're giving them the ability to start a program that gets these kids in school. Yet so far, the results have no shown that.
dan30oly
09-12-08, 11:21 AM
Whatever you reward, you get more of.
Why do you assume this is the federal governments fault.
The fault is obviously at the local school district level.
wendersfan
09-12-08, 11:29 AM
Whatever you reward, you get more of.So, since habitual truancy in Milwaukee Public Schools has gone down almost 8% over the period covered by the audit, it appears they are rewarding success. You know, it's fascinating what happens when you actually read a study, instead of a biased news article attempting to use a study to prove an ideologically motivated point through the selected use of statistics. You actually become informed, rather than just reinforcing your own preconceptions, biases, and prejudices.
See, I looked at the report. I looked at the numbers. Yes, truancy is a problem in Milwaukee's public schools. But the "news" article you posted, and the sentences you bolded, don't give the facts contained in the study. They present a portion of the facts in order to lie, to deceive the reader into believing something that isn't true. The worst you can say about truancy in Milwaukee is that it's about the same as it has been. The best you could say is that it's getting a little better overall, a little worse in some schools and better in others. But evidently that's not sensational enough for you to bother posting, or maybe even reading.
spainlinx0
09-12-08, 11:52 AM
Oh grundle, will you ever win?
grundle
09-12-08, 01:42 PM
Why do you assume this is the federal governments fault.
The fault is obviously at the local school district level.
The money gives the schools an incentive to continue doing whatever it is that's causing the problem.
grundle
09-12-08, 01:43 PM
So, since habitual truancy in Milwaukee Public Schools has gone down almost 8% over the period covered by the audit, it appears they are rewarding success. You know, it's fascinating what happens when you actually read a study, instead of a biased news article attempting to use a study to prove an ideologically motivated point through the selected use of statistics. You actually become informed, rather than just reinforcing your own preconceptions, biases, and prejudices.
See, I looked at the report. I looked at the numbers. Yes, truancy is a problem in Milwaukee's public schools. But the "news" article you posted, and the sentences you bolded, don't give the facts contained in the study. They present a portion of the facts in order to lie, to deceive the reader into believing something that isn't true. The worst you can say about truancy in Milwaukee is that it's about the same as it has been. The best you could say is that it's getting a little better overall, a little worse in some schools and better in others. But evidently that's not sensational enough for you to bother posting, or maybe even reading.
The money only went to the schools with the worst problems, and the problem has gotten worse, not better, at those schools.
grundle
09-12-08, 01:45 PM
Oh grundle, will you ever win?
Ziggy?
wendersfan
09-12-08, 02:03 PM
The money gives the schools an incentive to continue doing whatever it is that's causing the problem.Actually, it's an incentive to fix the problem, which is just what they are doing.
The money only went to the schools with the worst problems, and the problem has gotten worse, not better, at those schools. No, the problem has gotten better. Almost 8% better. From the 2001-02 school year to the 2006-07 school year (the years covered by the report) truancy in Milwaukee public schools went from 50.2% to 46.3%, a decline of 7.77%. 46.3 is less than 50.2, at least in the reality I share with most of the people on this planet. The two schools with the highest truancy rates in Milwaukee, Custer High School and Vincent High School, saw truancy rates go down from 2005-06 to 2006-07. So, in every possible way I can see from the study, your statement is completely false and your interpretation is without merit.
Ranger
09-12-08, 02:42 PM
Oh grundle, will you ever win?
No, will wndersfan ever win? :lol:
Pound that mat hard and often as you like, but you're still only wrestling with yourself. :)
wendersfan
09-12-08, 02:46 PM
It's Friday afternoon. <b>Venusian</b>'s doing Joe Biden's taxes, and I'm doing this. :shrug:
Mordred
09-12-08, 03:03 PM
No, the problem has gotten better. Almost 8% better. From the 2001-02 school year to the 2006-07 school year (the years covered by the report) truancy in Milwaukee public schools went from 50.2% to 46.3%, a decline of 7.77%. 46.3 is less than 50.2, at least in the reality I share with most of the people on this planet. The two schools with the highest truancy rates in Milwaukee, Custer High School and Vincent High School, saw truancy rates go down from 2005-06 to 2006-07. So, in every possible way I can see from the study, your statement is completely false and your interpretation is without merit.I'm going to need to see a graph.
spainlinx0
09-12-08, 05:14 PM
Grundlepolls, Inc. Superficially examining problems since 2005.
grundle
09-12-08, 07:19 PM
Actually, it's an incentive to fix the problem, which is just what they are doing.
No, the problem has gotten better. Almost 8% better. From the 2001-02 school year to the 2006-07 school year (the years covered by the report) truancy in Milwaukee public schools went from 50.2% to 46.3%, a decline of 7.77%. 46.3 is less than 50.2, at least in the reality I share with most of the people on this planet. The two schools with the highest truancy rates in Milwaukee, Custer High School and Vincent High School, saw truancy rates go down from 2005-06 to 2006-07. So, in every possible way I can see from the study, your statement is completely false and your interpretation is without merit.
The money didn't go to all the schools.
It only went to the 6 worst.
And the article says:
Three of six Milwaukee schools that received federal money to reduce truancy actually saw absences increase over the previous year
So the program made the problem worse, not better.
wendersfan
09-12-08, 08:08 PM
The money didn't go to all the schools.
It only went to the 6 worst.And in those six schools, in the aggregate, truancy went <b>down</b>. Just because it went up in half the schools doesn't mean that wasn't more than made up by a decline in truancy in the other half, <i>which is exactly what happened</i>.
Mordred
09-12-08, 09:38 PM
And in those six schools, in the aggregate, truancy went <b>down</b>. Just because it went up in half the schools doesn't mean that wasn't more than made up by a decline in truancy in the other half, <i>which is exactly what happened</i>.:lol: wendersfan is blowing grundle's mind!
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