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MONEY, RACE AND SUCCESS: HOW YOUR SCHOOL DISTRICT COMPARES
Engage Team • Jul 06, 2016
Money, Race and Success: How Your School District Compares
Sixth graders in the richest school districts are four grade levels ahead of children in the poorest districts.
We’ve long known of the persistent and troublesome academic gap between white students and their black and Hispanic peers in public schools.
We’ve long understood the primary reason, too: A higher proportion of black and Hispanic children come from poor families. A new analysis of reading and math test score data from across the country confirms just how much socioeconomic conditions matter.
Children in the school districts with the highest concentrations of poverty score an average of more than four grade levels below children in the richest districts. (Reliable estimates were not available for Asian-Americans.)
Even more sobering, the analysis shows that the largest gaps between white children and their minority classmates emerge in some of the wealthiest communities, such as Berkeley, Calif.; Chapel Hill, N.C.; and Evanston, Ill.
The study, by Sean F. Reardon, Demetra Kalogrides and Kenneth Shores of Stanford, also reveals large academic gaps in places like Atlanta, which has a high level of segregation in the public schools.
Why racial achievement gaps were so pronounced in affluent school districts is a puzzling question raised by the data. Part of the answer might be that in such communities, students and parents from wealthier families are constantly competing for ever more academic success. As parents hire tutors, enroll their children in robotics classes and push them to solve obscure math problems, those children keep pulling away from those who can’t afford the enrichment.
“Our high-end students who are coming in are scoring off the charts,” said Jeff Nash, executive director of community relations for the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools.
The school system is near the flagship campus of the University of North Carolina, and 30 percent of students in the schools qualify for free and reduced-price lunch, below the national average.
The wealthier students tend to come from families where, “let’s face it, both the parents are Ph.D.s, and that kid, no matter what happens in the school, is pressured from kindergarten to succeed,” Mr. Nash said. “So even though our minority students are outscoring minority students in other districts near us, there is still a bigger gap here because of that.”
By contrast, the communities with narrow achievement gaps tend to be those in which there are very few black or Hispanic children, or places like Detroit or Buffalo, where all students are so poor that minorities and whites perform equally badly on standardized tests.
The data was not uniformly grim. A few poor districts — like Bremen City, Ga. and Union City, N.J. — posted higher-than-average scores. They suggest the possibility that strong schools could help children from low-income families succeed.
“There are some outliers, and trying to figure out what’s making them more successful is worth looking at,” said Mr. Reardon, a professor of education and lead author of the analysis.
The new analysis surveys data from about 200 million standardized math and reading tests given to third through eighth graders in every state between 2009 and 2012. Although different states administer different exams, Mr. Reardon and his team were able to compare the state results with scores on federal tests known as the National Assessment of Educational Progress in order to develop a consistent scale by which to compare districts.
Mr. Reardon said the analysis should not be used to rank districts or schools. Test scores reflect not just the quality of schools or their teachers, but all kinds of other factors in children’s lives, including their home environment; whether they attended a good preschool; traumas they have experienced; and whether their parents read to them at night or hire tutors.
What emerges clearly in the data is the extent to which race and class are inextricably linked, and how that connection is exacerbated in school settings.
Not only are black and Hispanic children more likely to grow up in poor families, but middle-class black and Hispanic children are also much more likely than poor white children to live in neighborhoods and attend schools with high concentrations of poor students.
These schools can face a myriad of challenges. They tend to have more difficulty recruiting and keeping the most skilled teachers, and classes are more likely to be disrupted by violent incidents or the emotional fallout from violence in the neighborhood. These schools often offer fewer high-level classes such as Advanced Placement courses, and the parents have fewer resources to raise extra money that can provide enhanced arts programs and facilities.
“If a school is in a neighborhood that is highly segregated serving students of color and under-resourced, that is going to have a devastating impact on those who are experiencing a crisis,” said Thena Robinson Mock, project director of the Ending the Schoolhouse to Jailhouse Track program sponsored by the Advancement Project, a civil rights group. “But the others who may not be suffering that crisis at home are also going to suffer from not having enough resources or high-quality teachers. So it will impact the entire school community if those factors are at play.”
In some communities where both blacks and whites or Hispanics and whites came from similar socioeconomic backgrounds, academic gaps persisted. Mr. Reardon said that educators in these schools may subliminally – or consciously in some cases – track white students into gifted courses while assigning black and Hispanic students to less rigorous courses.
Others who examined the data said it raised as many questions as it answered. “This data is giving us a magnifying glass into places that have the same socioeconomic gaps but different achievement patterns,” said Rucker C. Johnson, associate professor of public policy at the University of California, Berkeley. “So we need to use that magnifying glass to figure out what the constellation of other factors” are that affect academics.
In one school district that appears to have beaten the odds, Union City, N.J., students consistently performed about a third of a grade level above the national average on math and reading tests even though the median family income is just $37,000 and only 18 percent of parents have a bachelor’s degree. About 95 percent of the students are Hispanic, and the vast majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunches.
Silvia Abbato, the district’s superintendent, said she could not pinpoint any one action that had led to the better scores. She noted that the district uses federal funds to help pay for teachers to obtain graduate certifications as literacy specialists, and it sponsors biweekly parent nights with advice on homework help for children, nutrition and immigration status.
The district regularly revamps the curriculum and uses quick online tests to gauge where students need more help or whether teachers need to modify their approaches.
“It’s not something you can do overnight,” Ms. Abbato said. “We have been taking incremental steps everywhere.”
LaFleur Leadership Institute Tip of the Day: Day 5: 7 characteristics of a leader. 6. Fairness: Matthew 7:12, Matthew 5:45-48, Romans 12:17-21 - Followers of God are to be Leaders of men and live at a higher level - All leaders go thru 2 major phases: The Call and The Preparation - During Preparation: All leaders get tested to live at a higher level than others. No one responded better than Jesus. - During that time emerging leaders experiment o discover their strengths and weaknesses. To reach their potential, however, leaders must pass many tests. 7. Compassionate: Proverbs 19:17, Matthew 1:18-25 - Joseph was very obedient and have total trust in order to go to a higher level.
The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires. William Arthur Ward
LaFleur Leadership Institute Tip of the Day: Day 4: 7 characteristics of a leader. 5. Dependability: Genesis 39:1-6(The Law of Solid Ground), Proverbs 15:23, James 5:12 - The Law of Solid Ground: Joseph Earns Trust - Leaders operate on a basis of trust. - When we act as a “tool box man” we can even make a enemies like us. - Keep your word: James 5:12 - All you need to say is a simple “yes” or “no”. Otherwise your will be condemned.
Generosity is not what a person DOES. Generosity is what a person IS. Generosity is need and abundance. There is a need and we have an abundance to give. It should be selfless. It's less like an arrow but more like a boomerang. www.lafleurleadershipinstitute.com
LaFleur Leadership Institute Tip of the Day: Day 3: 7 characteristics of a leader. 4. Courageous: Genesis 50:15-21 - Character Breeds Perspective - Joseph showed his leadership character when he did not punish his brothers, instead he loved them. - The development of character is at the heart of our development as leaders. - How a leader deals with the circumstances of life tells you many things about his character.
Effective leadership is not how much you know, it's how you use what you know. www.lafleurleadershipinstitute.com
LaFleur Leadership Tip of the Day: Day 2 of 7 characteristics of a leader. 2. Diligence: Proverbs 6:6-8, Hebrews 11:6 - John Maxwell writes: “Self-Discipline is the ability to do what is right even when you don’t feel like doing it.” Leaders build discipline into their lives because it promotes diligence. 3. Self-Control: Matthew 4:1-11 (The Law of Sacrifice) - Quality Leaders are prepared in the wilderness. - A leader must give up to go up - "The dream is free, however once you start the journey you must pay". Dreaming of going to Hawaii is free. The journey to get there is a fee.
Winning with money is 80% behavior and only 20% head knowledge. Make your 80% work for you. www.lafleurleadershipinstitute.com
LaFleur Leadership Tip of the Day: This week I will share with you 7 characteristics of a Leader. 1. Honesty: The Law of Solid Ground - Trust is the foundation of leadership. - Building the trust requires competence, connection and character. - Character makes trust possible and trust makes leadership possible. - Charisma will get you in the door, character keeps you inside the room. The leaders that you want to follow are bigger on the inside(character) them they are on the outside. Reference: Deuteronomy 16:20, 25:13-16, 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12, 1 Peter 2:12
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