A STATE-FUNDED DIPLOMA MILL -- IN CALIFORNIA, FUNNILY ENOUGH

Plagued with one of the worst on-time graduation rates in the California State University system, officials at CSU Northridge are slashing general-education requirements by 20 percent. But are they sacrificing education for expedience? The purpose of a university, after all, is to produce educated graduates -- not merely to crank out diplomas.

Yes, improving graduation rates is important. Students at the Northridge campus pay a great cost, in terms of time as well as tuition, for their education. Many have family and work commitments to tend to while they're pursuing their degrees. For them, the road to graduation -- only 3.8 percent of CSUN students graduate in four years, and only 32 percent in six -- is intolerably long. In part, that's because of CSUN's demographics, which include older students who must study part time.

Still, the university has good reason to worry about its graduation rate, and it's wise to boost that statistic in whatever educationally sound ways it can. Administrators' plans to offer students "road maps" for graduation in a set period of time, as well as better counseling, are two worthwhile steps in that direction. Reducing graduation requirements is not. Cutting its 58 required general-education credits -- the highest in the CSU system -- to 48, the lowest that the system permits, might speed up graduations, but only by cheapening the value of a CSUN degree.

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CHEATING TEACHERS

Leftist ethics at work. "There's no such thing as right and wrong" -- Remember?

A four-month investigation into possible cheating on state tests at two dozen Houston schools has uncovered evidence of cheating at four campuses, school district officials announced Wednesday. Houston Independent School District Superintendent Abe Saavedra moved to fire four teachers: one at Key Middle School, two from Bowie Elementary who now work at other schools, and one at Petersen Elementary. Key Principal Mable Caleb and an assistant principal are being demoted, and the principals at Bowie and Petersen will receive reprimands, Saavedra said.

He announced earlier this year that two Sanderson Elementary teachers are being fired and the principal demoted. All have denied wrongdoing and are appealing Saavedra's decisions. Saavedra ordered the investigation by the newly created Office of Inspector General in January, shortly after the Dallas Morning News reported test-score anomalies at about 400 Texas schools. Investigators found no evidence of cheating on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills at 13 schools and inconclusive evidence at seven campuses, Saavedra said. "The investigation has clearly shown that a few employees at these ... schools helped their students answer questions on the TAKS test," Saavedra said. "A small number of teachers and administrators have profoundly harmed children in our care by taking away their right to a good education. We apologize to those children and their parents, and we will punish those responsible for this wrong that has been committed."

The school district will give the Harris County District Attorney's Office all the evidence collected during the past four months by a dozen investigators who interviewed dozens of students and employees and inspected thousands of pages of testing documents and data, Saavedra said.

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For greatest efficiency, lowest cost and maximum choice, ALL schools should be privately owned and run -- with government-paid vouchers for the poor and minimal regulation.

The NEA and similar unions worldwide believe that children should be thoroughly indoctrinated with Green/Left, feminist/homosexual ideology but the "3 R's" are something that kids should just be allowed to "discover"

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