“Schools that use out-of-school suspensions a lot tend to have higher dropout rates … have lower test scores on state accountability tests and get lower ratings from parents and teachers,” said Russell Skiba, director of the Equity Project, in a Times Union article about discipline.
Where the first three reasons might be valid statistics I would greatly dispute teachers have a problem with suspending misbehaving kids. Teachers all over the nation pray little Johnnies don’t show up so they can teach and their other kids can learn.
The big problem however with Skiba’s argument is causality. Do suspensions cause lower test scores and drop outs or would many of these kids drop out and do poorly on tests anyways?
I contend that kids that are frequently suspended probably aren’t in school because they want to be and likewise wouldn’t do well on standardized tests if forced to be there.
Courts charge kids younger and younger as adults, it’s time schools followed suit. If a sixteen year old doesn’t want to be in school it’s time we showed them the door. The benefits of doing so may just outweigh the benefits if any of keeping them. Check out the post below for reasons we should permanently suspend some kids.
http://jaxkidsmatter.blogspot.com/2012/01/its-time-schools-let-some-kids-go.html
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