A movement began about 20 years ago to graduate students at all costs, the reasoning being that kids who graduate do better. Unfortunately, some of them should leave school (dropout) at 16, as they are legally allowed (or used to be). I got out of teaching for this reason: teachers are treated like glorified babysittingers and admin undermines them/us. This is the single most frustrating thing about teaching: lack of real authority. I had kids in my class who were living in a group home for sexual offenders, but wasn't told about it...the subject just sort of came up at a meeting, which is how I found out. Of course, the excuse has something to do with privacy rights--sorry, what? What about the rights of other students who are sexually harassed in the classroom, or the rights of teachers to effectively manage known criminals? Schools could make huge gains by expelling kids who aren't fit for school and banning celling phones, but they won't do it because admin is bulled by the very parents who raise disordered children.