Letters

To the Editor:

I am compelled to respond to the Commentary by Mary Hatwood Futrell and Iris C. Rotberg ( "Predictable Casualties," Commentary, Oct. 2, 2002). I agree that standardized testing is not the answer to student achievement and may well contribute to dropout rates. But I disagree with the politically correct prophecy that we should anticipate the cause to be low teacher salaries and lack of resources in the public schools. Use of the time-worn, liberal-knee-jerk mantra to blame dropouts on "failed societal and educational policies" is twice repeated. Real solutions are not to be found here. Taking more money from those who have earned it cannot solve problems that originate elsewhere.

The symptoms of dropouts are alluded to—parental education levels, poor health and nutrition, poverty, and social problems—but causes are left out of focus. Let's have the fortitude to face the fact that half of all U.S. children born to women ages 20 to 24—of all races and ethnicity—were born out of wedlock. Reality and research show that the quality of a child's family life is a crucial predictor of that child's school performance and success in later life. Society and schools are not responsible for five super-important home factors that...