http://slatestarcodex.com/2018/04/12/highlights-from-the-comments-on-dc-graduation-rates/

a commenter writes:

"I was friends with a guy who briefly worked as a teacher at a public high school in central DC (I’m 80% sure it was Cardozo High). He had an education background thanks to spending several years working as a youth camp counselor and as an after-school program counselor, and that was sufficient to qualify him for DCPS’ abbreviated teacher training program (such a thing existed in 2009 when he did it; I’m unsure if it is still around). During the training program, I remember him speaking about his enthusiasm for the teaching skills he was learning and about his eagerness to put them to use (in retrospect, I think some of this was a nervous attempt to convince himself the job wouldn’t be bad). After a break of several months, we spoke again, and he was almost totally disillusioned with the job and was already thinking of quitting. This is what I remember him saying:

1) On the first day of classes, there was no orientation for new teachers, no brief meeting where the Principal shook his hand and said “Welcome Aboard,” nothing. He had to go to the front office and ask a secretary what classroom was his and walk there by himself.

2) Unexcused absences were chronic and undermined his ability to teach anything. At the start of each of his classes, he had a written roster of students, and he had to check off which students were there. For any class, typically 20-30% of students would be missing, without explanation (This is a very important point to remember whenever anyone tries to blame DCPS’ poor outcomes on large class sizes–on paper, each class might have 35 students, but typically, only 23 are actually showing up). Additionally, the 20-30% of students who were absent each class varied from day-to-day, meaning one student didn’t know what was taught on Monday, the one next to him was there Monday but not Tuesday, the third was there the first two days but not Wednesday, etc.

3) Student misbehavior was atrocious. For example, out of the students who showed up to class, it was common for some to walk into the classroom late, again without any explanation and often behaving disruptively. As a rule, whenever a student did that, he was obligated to sign his name on a clipboard for the teacher’s attendance records (there was no punishment for tardiness–late students merely had to write their names down). Some late students would chronically resist doing this, either ignoring him and just going to their desks or yelling curses at him. My friend described an incident where one student–who was physically bigger than he was–yelled out he was a “FAGGOT” when asked to sign the clipboard, provoking laughs from all the other students, before sitting down without signing it. After seeing he could get away with that, the student started calling my friend “FAGGOT” all the time. Other examples of misbehavior included near-constant talking among the students during lessons and fooling around with cell phones.

4) Teachers received almost no support from the school administration. Had sane rules been followed at this high school, students would have been immediately sent to the office for formal punishment for these sorts of offenses I’ve described. However, under such a policy, the office would have been overwhelmed with misbehaving students and probably some of their enraged parents, so the administration solved the problem by forbidding teachers from sending students to the office for anything other than physical violence in the classroom. My friend had no ability to formally punish the student who liked to call him “FAGGOT” other than to use stern verbal warnings.

5) Most of the students were unwilling and in some cases unable to learn. During class sessions, the students were clearly disengaged from what he was teaching. Homework completion rates were abysmal. As the end of the academic semester neared, he saw that a huge fraction of them were on track to fail, so he resorted to pitiful cajoling, pizza parties, reward schemes, and deals involving large curves to everyone’s grades if they could only, for once do a little work, and it didn’t work. Some of his students were Latino and understood little or even no English, meaning they learned (almost) nothing, even when they tried. He resorted to seating the students who knew no English next to bilingual Latinos who could translate for them. That was the best he could do. In fairness, he spoke glowingly of some of his students, who actually put in some effort and were surprisingly smart.

6) At the time my friend was teaching, DCPS was in the grips of some harebrained, faddish teaching philosophy that said students of different academic abilities shouldn’t be put in different course tracks, but rather, should be deliberately put in the same class. This of course caused immediate problems since the curriculum was too hard for the weakest students and too easy for the strongest ones. I think my friend said his training program basically told teachers to “try harder” if any problems arose from the setup.

I’ll never forget how crestfallen and stressed out he was when he described these things to me. Having never taught in American public schools, I didn’t realize just how bad it was, and the detailed nature of his anecdotes really had an impact on me. I advised him to finish his year at the high school and then to transfer to ANY non-urban school in the area, even if it meant lower pay or a longer commute. We lost touch after that, but I can’t imagine he still works in DCPS."

hmmmmmmm, nope, must be structural racism, lol

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3947029&forum_id=2#35823533)

hahahahahahahha

i feel like this is actually an example of The System Working. i'm picturing some black kid repeatedly yelling "FAGGOT" at this stupid effete brainwashed white shitlib soyboy "teacher" and i'm not really seeing anything wrong with it

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3947029&forum_id=2#35823574)

"w-w-why are you calling me a faggot? only white frat boys use that kind of hateful rhetoric!"

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3947029&forum_id=2#35828946)

I bet you also think home invaders getting shot is a good thing.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3947029&forum_id=2#35823960)

1. replace elementary school teachers in shitty inner city schools with drill instructor types whose job is to discipline and teach basic reading and arithmetic. maybe very very rudimentary science like planets in the solar system. no history/geography/anything else whatsoever in elementary school

2. standardized graduation tests at 8th grade. 2 chances, after that you go to trade school/military school or some other shit

3. standardized graduation tests at 12th grade. 2 chances, after that you can go to remedial summer school if you're within a certain range, if you fail again at the end of the summer you choose between trade school/govt training program/military

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3947029&forum_id=2#35823994)

the questions isn't whether the kid can read or do math or whatever, it whether we want him to have the same signal as all the other kids who have the signal, 'didn't graduate HS'

-----------

From the original post:

"If the true value of education is signaling, then the most important thing a school district can do is make sure it’s speaking the same signaling-language as everyone else. Probably somebody should fix the system in general, but that needs to happen on a national level if it’s not going to leave thousands of unfairly-failed children as collateral damage."

From Steve Sailer in the comments:

"It’s not at all uncommon across the country for states or local school districts to (temporarily) implement, or at least announce, extremely stringent high school graduation requirements. For example, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger pushed through a requirement that to graduate from high school in California, you had to pass Algebra, Geometry, and, now, Algebra II. After all, who can’t pass Algebra II if they just put a little mental elbow grease into their effort?

Year after year, local school districts delayed implementing the Algebra II graduation requirement for just one more year. Last I heard, LAUSD was finally going to do it, but then I got bored and stopped following the issue.

An awful lot of fantasy rules are passed for making it tougher to graduate from high school, but then are never really implemented because, in truth, there are a fair number of decent kids who try pretty hard but just aren’t very bright, and educators really don’t want to hang the High School Dropout label on them for life."

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3947029&forum_id=2#35825544)

Garbage in -> Garbage out.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3947029&forum_id=2#35823844)

*knocks clipboard into your face*

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3947029&forum_id=2#35824207)

im sympathetic to a degree--just imagine the tension some "high IQ"* jewish dork must feel when trying to reconcile how his entire self-concept is wrapped up in identifying as part of the "rational class" engaged in a titanic struggle with the forces of benighted, religious, irrational conservaheroism, when it turns out, empirically, that conservative descriptions and prescriptions are congruent with reality while liberalism is an insane religion in hard, destructive opposition to facts, reason, and the Good in general; it sure sounds like a tremendous burden to bear and the splenetic blogs and desperate cuddle parties are surely emotional health release valves for this suffocating anchor of dissonance around their necks.

...well, some of you don't have to imagine.

*high iq...but as an adult college graduate he first became "woke" on thinking by reading that freak yudkowskys incoherent, incompetent attempts at synthesizing frameworks and knowledge of meta-reasoning.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3947029&forum_id=2#35824053)

https://www.pcpasf.com/scott-siskind-md

https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1200/0*m5ZRDfAqQJ0Z5yZk.jpg

a typical Friday night I am

recovering from a working day. Why couldn't you have asked about Thursday nights or Monday nights? Chances are much higher I'd be in a hot tub with some friends.

The most private thing I’m willing to admit

My fetishes are orgasm denial (of her); tickling (either of her, or with me allowed to fight back); and I have a strong sexually sadistic streak, but if I don't believe she's turned on by it, it does nothing for me.

I'm not easily offended by questions; I won't answer everything, but you can always ask me anything.

I’m looking for

Girls who like guys Ages 20–40 Near me For new friends, long-term dating, short-term dating

You should message me if

As of June 2012, my poly dance card is mostly full at the moment (one primary, two other relationships). Message me anyway if you want to be notified when my dance card is less full. Ignore any temptation to passively wait for me to notice you, that rarely works in real life and never over the Internet.

I've noticed that a lot of aspiring-rationalist females seem very shy and underconfident for one reason or another; so let me state here you shouldn't worry about disqualifying yourself or thinking that I'm not accessible to you. Don't decide on other people's behalf that they'll say no to you. Just decide whether you'd say yes yourself. Test experimentally what happens when you try asking directly for what you want - that's Empiricism. This advice applies any time you prefer the state of affairs where you sleep with a guy to not sleeping with him, and also to life in general.

If you're a student of transhumanism and rationality, sexually masochistic, and we have any overlap of literary taste or other interests, then contact me regardless of my full dance card - we may have a chance of building a new primary relationship together.

Though I'm also cool with trophy collection, if you only want to sleep with me once so you can tell your grandchildren."

I report; you decide.

but these are sick, sick people. and while jews always talk about how smart they are, real intelligence is very hard to identify in the wild (as shown by these retarded degenerates being lauded as intellectuals)

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3947029&forum_id=2#35824180)

"No, I don't think I would, so please don't moles--"

"--RISTEN!"

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3947029&forum_id=2#35825397)

first four chapters available free here: http://yudkowsky.net/other/fiction/girl-intercorrupted/

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3947029&forum_id=2#35826525)

it can't be overstated because they have ZERO competence or expertise or credentials in the areas in which they claim they are expert.

eliezer is a psycho with a cult.

he is NOT an AI researcher.

he is NOT the man who solved logic.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3947029&forum_id=2#35826656)

My family name is Yugano. My given name is Yuuki. I have no redeeming qualities.

The boys I meet fail to interest me, and I haven’t kissed any of them. This is because the Internet has ruined my way of looking at the world.

In the beginning, seeing pics of a muscular man with no shirt was enough to make me breathe faster. If I came across a picture of a man being nude, I would flinch away in horror.

Over time, I moved on to pictures of nude men, then two men doing things to one another. As I became numb to one perversion, I had to find something more extreme to arouse my interest. Now I have no interest in normal forms of youthful misbehavior.

You say I should have refrained? Back then I was too young to know better, and now this untouched maiden has been so thoroughly ruined that I might as well go further.

I blame the government and my parents. In the very beginning, they should have stopped that innocent girl from seeing perverted things online.

Now I spend hours every day browsing the Internet, doing you-know-what to myself.

At this point I’d like to deliver a sharp remark about how stories depict being transported to another world. You know the scene I’m talking about: the Hero arrives surrounded by holy clerics casting the Summoning Spell, with well-dressed royalty and future adventuring companions looking on.

In every one of those cases, the Summoning catches the Hero at a time when the Hero is standing up and fully dressed.

Is this realistic? Would a Hero be Summoned only at such a convenient time? I bet you spend much of your day sitting down. If the Summoning caught you then, wouldn’t you materialize unsupported, and fall on your ass?

Imagine being a Hero being transported while they’re on the toilet. They materialize in a sitting position with their underwear around their ankles, then fall over with their knees still bent and pants down. Their butt hasn’t been wiped, and it leaves a smear on the ground. Maybe the Summoned Hero is right in the middle of pooping out a big one.

What happened to me was even more embarrassing than that.

It involved my usual Internet habits.

That was the first step of my journey into another world.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3947029&forum_id=2#35826690)

(Scott is less of a psychotic asshole but still very, very sick)

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3947029&forum_id=2#35826769)

ie an inverse deus ex machina is required to upset the best laid plans of men; it's not possible libs are wrong in the realm of rationality.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3947029&forum_id=2#35825469)

WTF is wrong with Oregon?

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3947029&forum_id=2#35824102)

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3947029&forum_id=2#35826007)

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3947029&forum_id=2#35826011)

http://foxbaltimore.com/news/project-baltimore/teachers-stunned-by-project-baltimore-discovery-i-dont-think-its-possible

Teachers stunned by Project Baltimore discovery: “I don’t think it’s possible.”

BALTIMORE, Md. (WBFF) -- How can a high school with zero students proficient in math, have one of the highest graduation rates in Baltimore City?

It’s a question Project Baltimore is asking after teachers from Northwood Appold Community Academy II, or NACA II, contacted us saying grades are being changed so students can graduate.

“I don’t think it’s possible,” says one of the teachers who sat down with Fox45. We’re disguising their identities because the educators fear retaliation.

“You should think at least one. But none? Wow!” says the other teacher.

None. Zero. It’s a number that also got our attention.

NACA II is a Baltimore City high school that has its troubles. According to district data analyzed by Project Baltimore, attendance rates are down since 2013, while chronic absenteeism has nearly quadrupled and suspensions have more than doubled. Yet, the school reports an 87 percent graduation rate, the exact same as the state average.

’13 ’14 ’15 ‘16

Attendance Rates: 95 92 91 88

Chronic Absenteeism: 7 21 18 27

Suspensions: 24 38 28 53

Source: Baltimore City School Profiles

But then we found that NACA II has zero students proficient in state math testing and just 5 percent proficient in English. Compare that to the state, where 36 percent of students are proficient in math, 44 in English – yet, both have the same graduate rate.

Grad Rate Math English

NACA II: 87% 0% 5%

Maryland: 87% 36% 44%

Source: State Department of Education

When asked how can that happen, one NACA II educator responded, “Grade changing. Giving out diplomas to students that did not earn them.”

Added the other, “If they’re not proficient and not passing those tests, they shouldn’t have graduated.”

Here’s the problem: High school students are tested by the state in math and English. Their scores place them in one of five categories. A four or five is considered proficient, while one through three are not. At NACA II, 42 students took the Algebra II test last year, and 35 fell into the lowest level. The rest fell into the second lowest category. Not one student even “approached expectations” and scored a three.

“I’m in shock but I understand it,” said one of the teachers. “If you are changing grades and you’re allowing people to walk, of course, that is what your numbers are going to look like.”

NACA II has 17 teachers. Fox45 spoke to three of them, who said students are failing required classes, but still getting diplomas.

Project Baltimore reached out to NACA II’s operator, Dr. Cecil Gray. After two weeks of emailing with his attorney, he declined to comment. But in a previous statement, his lawyer told Project Baltimore, the allegations of grade changing are false. But the Baltimore City Schools Chief Academic Officer, Sean Conley, told Fox45 that what we found raises concerns.

“It is something we would look into,” said Conley speaking of the zero percent proficiency with an 87 percent graduation rate.

“We would take any specific allegations and forward that to the office of investigations if we have any evidence, or what they determine about potential fraud, we would take that very seriously,” Conley said.

North Avenue is looking into it. Since we interviewed Conley a few weeks ago for this story, the Baltimore City School District has launched an internal investigation into NACA II and will no longer comment for legal reasons.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3947029&forum_id=2#35824933)

wasn't there an article recently where some teacher was praised as "brave" for helping her kids cheat on standardized testsm

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3947029&forum_id=2#35824965)

1. Scott Siskind is a Jewish, clinically insane blogger.

2. Jewish, clinically insane xo posters feel compelled to read his posts.

3. His posts display more hypergraphia and mental illness than a pensive blog.

4. Therefore, his posts are not edifying on any serious topic.

5. His posts on the specifics of mentally ill subcultures may be edifying if you've previously accepted and internalized the premises of the mentally ill subcultures at issue.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3947029&forum_id=2#35825556)

i assure you siskind is a literally jewish and mentally ill blogger

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3947029&forum_id=2#35826306)

somebody called bullshit.

I know him and know for a fact he's both a kike and has sought treatment for mental illness.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3947029&forum_id=2#35826360)

using his name is pointing that out.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3947029&forum_id=2#35826583)

I literally laughed at him irl until his minions came over to say he was upset at being humiliated, but it's not his fault because he's just a blogger.

And I had to tell them I wasn't trying to upset him and would be happy to talk to him, so he came over telling me his life story and how he's going his own way with his cult followers, and its really triggering when I make him look bad in front of them and that's one reason why he spends most of his energy online with unemployed reddit neckbeards instead of in real life and...

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3947029&forum_id=2#35826746)

so sure, I'm the asshole pointing this out.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3947029&forum_id=2#35826783)

no self-respecting woman who was well would date either one of them, of course, so instead they indoctrinate vulnerable, mentally ill "geeky" girls into being their "poly" (100% intellectual) cumrags.

obviously this doesn't go well for the 20 year old girls who are emotionally immature enough to fall for this geek polygamy shit and they wind up crying, abusing drugs, attempting suicide, etc. but hey, that's all grist for the blog mill about the fragility of contemporary life. and there's always a new naive 19 year old dork girl to take her place.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3947029&forum_id=2#35828644)

not saying it's an implausible change in 4 years but what you're talking about would be a major change of pace from that.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3947029&forum_id=2#35837119)

I read his blog. It's good, and it prompts good discussion among smart people that are willing to acknowledge un-PC evidence/conclusions (like XO), but mostly aren't mentally ill assholes (unlike XO).

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3947029&forum_id=2#35826430)

we dont disagree. im right; youre wrong. ive literally had scott cry to me about his mental illness.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3947029&forum_id=2#35826484)

Your dazzling intellect is on display.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3947029&forum_id=2#35826543)

this nutjob was at a real conference trying to explain himself to me. i didnt buy it; he got emotional.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3947029&forum_id=2#35826592)

everyone knows who he is, I'm not outing him.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3947029&forum_id=2#35826671)

also, you wouldn't need to be in a weird subculture that focuses on those things if you thought regular people already did a good job of practicing them

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3947029&forum_id=2#35826652)

Oh, what a sensitive soul!

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3947029&forum_id=2#35826829)

2. Fail

3. Grow a neckbeard

"So I'm pretty much of mix of everything livejournal intellectual I've learned to love about myself: poly, furry, emo/goth, futurist, sapiosexual"

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3947029&forum_id=2#35829933)

let me be 100% clear: I will "out" anyone I feel like as being part of a *public* cult that rapes young girls. If you don't want to be "outed" as such then you are well-advised to bite your tongue.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3947029&forum_id=2#35835878)

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3947029&forum_id=2#35835943)

you've literally made a dozen+ posts over several months/years talking about how shocked and offended you are by me. yeah, we ain't on your Facebook page and that doesn't work here.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3947029&forum_id=2#35835965)

Suicide note describing the pathology and abhorrent behavior of weirdo rationalists

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3947029&forum_id=2#36284232)

"He touched my thigh at Signal Data Science where I was living and training to become a data scientist. I moved my legs away. He touched my thigh again. When I went to report him to Julia Wise of CEA, he was already banned from EA Global."

She describes this as sexual assault and sexual violence. I don't want to kick a suicidal depressive who just committed suicide while she's down, but she does not strike me as a reliable narrator of interpersonal interaction.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3947029&forum_id=2#36284347)