DATA PROJECT

Using Data To Make Decisions EDL 630.A, EDL 630.B Dr. Sally Lloyd

A BURNING QUESTION
Do economically disadvantaged

students perform better in school districts of wealth than economically disadvantaged students who attend school districts categorized as disadvantaged?

EVIDENCE
Let us first find scholarly evidence of

the different ideas and sections of our burning question

DOES POVERTY EFFECT PERFORMANCE?

The research says a resounding yes.

According to an article in the Canadian Journal of Education,

Children from lower socio-economic backgrounds tend to be educationally disadvantaged. 1

According to an article in American Secondary Education,

Nationwide, 8 percent of all federally funded schools have failed to bring enough students to grade level for four or more consecutive years. Most of these schools are in low-income districts.6
According to an article in the Journal of Educational Research,

poverty is a higher indicator of poor performance than any other indicator previously studied, including race.4

These articles and many others detail that

poverty effects performance in all areas at every level.

HOW DO DISADVANTAGED STUDENTS PERFORM IN DISADVANTAGED SCHOOLS?

Disadvantaged students are more likely to perform

poorly than other groups. Disadvantaged schools have less resources to offer students.
According to an article in the Journal for the Education of the

Gifted, Schools with a higher [disadvantaged] student population are less likely to offer rigorous curricula and AP courses. They are also less likely to have experienced and qualified teachers. 3 Lower income schools have limited access to lessons and enrichment opportunities that add to student competence in a learning environment, confidence in ability to learn new things, social interaction skills, and a background information that may transfer to any academic setting. Involvement in schoolrelated activities in general is associated with higher achievement. 3

Districts that are disadvantaged are less likely to have

access to variables that increase performance.

 students tend to do worse in schools that contain

HOW DO DISADVANTAGED STUDENTS PERFORM IN DISADVANTAGED SCHOOLS?

large numbers of one-parent families. Low income students are significantly less likely to enter college than students from high-income backgrounds and significantly less likely to graduate if they do enter. 3
Showing that students in more disadvantaged districts

have lower performance.

Opportunities to learn in group settings and

exposure to information-rich environments have been found to be less available to children in poverty, placing them at a disadvantage 3
By moving the children from concentrated areas where

this is true to a more information-rich environment, in other words, more affluent or wealthy school, students will have more opportunities to learn. This effects overall performance.

HOW DO DISADVANTAGED STUDENTS PERFORM IN NON-DISADVANTAGED SCHOOLS?

According to an article in the Journal of Educational

Research, Socioeconomic status of the [school] district can explain variations in students average standardized test scores4
In other words, the districts wealth does have an effect on test

scores overall.

District socioeconomic status and the percentage of

students from low-income families in the school were the most influential and consistent factors related to schooling outcomes.5
Disadvantaged students are shown to perform better in wealthier

schools.

According to Education Week, poor students will

perform better when poverty is less concentrated within the school 2

HOW DO DISADVANTAGED STUDENTS PERFORM IN NON-DISADVANTAGED SCHOOLS?

than they did with high-income schools 3

Low-income schools had more in common with each other

Because there are few similarities between low income and high-

income schools, the differences are what promotes higher performance in the same group (disadvantaged) of students.
Can we conclude that a departure from the standard of

disadvantaged students environment leads to an improvement in performance?

Increased education is what will allow students to escape

poverty and its limitations for themselves and future generations. 3

Students perform better in schools of higher wealth and, therefore,

attain increased education, which will allow them to escape poverty.

DATA

WHAT DATA CAN WE USE TO ANSWER THIS BURNING QUESTION?

ODE website has aggregated data that the public can

access at any time

LRC Economic Data provides information on student

performance separated by economic group (disadvantaged and nondisadvantaged students)

Cupp Report (District Profile Report) provides demographic

data about every school district in the state. The basis of district wealth are determined from this report. Report also has population and density data for every district.
Community schools list used to remove community school

data

Department of Defense website has parameters for

calculating district types (Urban, Suburban, Rural) Population Data from 2010 United States Census

DATA LIMITATIONS
Data is aggregated, no student level data available to

the public. Many data points are averaged already cannot check authenticity or mathematical standards. Data has been interpreted by others already. Data is unclean Human calculation error Standard error Standard deviation

FOR THIS QUESTION, WE MUST DEFINE CRUCIAL SECTIONS:

Economically Wealth of School

Disadvantaged:
A child utilizing free

District
Determined by median

and reduced lunch A child in a home at or below the poverty level Designation as Disadvantaged on LRC Data Table

family income of district Compared to state median income Cupp Report % student population in poverty > 40% makes district economically disadvantaged (ODE)

SCHOOL DISTRICT WEALTH: A COMPLICATED IDEA

Wealth is a continuum using three categories shows

more clearly the difference in performance of very poor school districts compared to those of wealthy districts
How is this categorized? Disadvantaged District More than 40% of student population utilizes Free/Reduced Lunch Moderately Disadvantaged District More than 25%, but less than 40% of student population utilizes Free/Reduced Lunch Wealthier District Less than 25% of student population utilizes Free/Reduced Lunch

LET US FIRST DISCUSS HOW DISADVANTAGED STUDENTS PERFORM IN EACH DISTRICT ECONOMIC TYPE

100

Performance of Disadv. Students in Disadv. Districts

Performance of Disadv. Students in Disadv. Districts

100 90
Average Passing % Read Average Passing % Math Average Passing % Science Average Passing % Write Average Passing % Soc.Stud

90 80 70
Average Passing % Read Average Passing % Math Average Passing % Science

80 70

% Passing

50 40 30 20 10 0 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th

% Passing

60

60 50 40 30 20 10

Grade Level

*Across 4 Counties, all districts

0 OGT 11th

Grade Level

*Across 4 Counties, all districts

DISADVANTAGED DISTRICTS

100 90 80 70

Performance of Disadv. Students in Moderately Disadv. Districts

100 90 80

Performance of Disadv. Students in Moderately Disadv. Districts

Average Passing % Read Average Passing % Math Average Passing % Science Average Passing % Write Average Passing % Soc.Stud

Average Passing % Read Average Passing % Math

% Passing

70 60 50 40

% Passing

60 50 40 30 20 10 0 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th

Average Passing % Science

30 20 10 0

Grade Level

*Across 4 Counties, all districts

OGT Grade Level

11th *Across 4 Counties, all districts

MODERATELY DISADVANTAGED DISTRICTS

100 90 80 70

Performance of Disadv. Students in Wealthier Districts

100
90
Average Passing % Read

Performance of Disadv. Students in Wealthier Districts

Average Passing % Read Average Passing % Math Average Passing % Science Average Passing % Write Average Passing % Soc.Stud

80 70

% Passing

% Passing

60 50 40 30 20 10 0
Average Passing % Math Average Passing % Science

60

50
40 30 20 10

3rd

4th

5th

6th

7th

8th

Grade Level

*Across 4 Counties, all districts

OGT

Grade Level

11th

*Across 4 Counties, all districts

WEALTHY DISTRICTS

 Now that we have looked at how the

student population by economic type performs in different types of districts, let us look at how only disadvantaged students perform in different districts across subjects.
This will be a base for conclusion to our

burning question

READING
Performance of Students in Elementary Grades in Reading in All District Types
100
90 80 70 Avg. Pass % Read Disadv.

Performance of Students in High School in Reading in All District Types

100 90 80 70
Avg. Pass % Read Disadv. Avg. Pass % Read Mod. Disadv. Avg. Pass % Read Wealthy

% Passing

50 40

Avg. Pass % Read Mod. Disadv. Avg. Pass % Read Wealthy

% Passing

60

60 50

40
30 20 10 0

30
20 10 0 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th

Grade Level

*Across 4 Counties, all districts

OGT

11th

Grade Level

*Across 4 Counties, all districts

MATH
Performance of Students in Elementary Grades in Math in All District Types
100 90

Performance of Students in High School in Math in All District Types

100 90 Avg. Pass % Math Disadv.

80
70

80
70

Avg. Pass % Math Disadv. Avg. Pass % Math Mod. Disadv. Avg. Pass % Math Wealthy

% Passing

50 40

30
20 10 0

Avg. Pass % Math Mod. Disadv. Avg. Pass % Math Wealthy

% Passing

60

60 50 40

30
20 10 0

3rd

4th

5th

6th

7th

8th

Grade Level

*Across 4 Counties, all districts

OGT

11th

Grade Level

*Across 4 Counties, all districts

SCIENCE
Performance of Students in Elementary Grades in Science in All District Types
100 90 80 70
Avg. Pass % Science Disadv. Avg. Pass % Science Mod. Disadv. Avg. Pass % Science Wealthy

Performance of Students in High School in Science in All District Types

100 90 80 70
Avg. Pass % Science Disadv. Avg. Pass % Science Mod. Disadv. Avg. Pass % Science Wealthy

% Passing

50
40 30 20 10 0

% Passing

60

60

50
40 30 20 10 0 OGT 11th

5th Grade Level

8th

*Across 4 Counties, all districts

Grade Level

*Across 4 Counties, all districts

WRITING & SOCIAL STUDIES

Performance of Students in High School in Writing in All District Types
100 90 80 70
Avg. Pass % Write Disadv. Avg. Pass % Write Mod. Disadv.

Performance of Students in High School in Social Studies in All District Types 100
90 80 70
Avg. Pass % Soc. Studies Disadv. Avg. Pass % Soc. Studies Mod. Disadv. Avg. Pass % Soc. Studies Wealthy

% Passing

% Passing

60 50 40 30 20 10 0 OGT 11th

60 50 40 30 20 10 0 OGT 11th

Avg. Pass % Write Wealthy

Grade Level

*Across 4 Counties, all districts

Grade Level

*Across 4 Counties, all districts

CONCLUSIONS
Based on research and statistical evidence, it is

concluded that students from disadvantaged backgrounds do, in fact, perform better in schools that are wealthier. It is also clear that across the wealth continuum, the wealthier the school, the better disadvantaged students perform, on average.
In other words, disadvantaged students perform better in

schools with 25%-40% of students in poverty than in schools with more than 40% in poverty and even better in schools with less than 25% of students in poverty. As the school district increases in wealth, so does performance of disadvantaged students.

Works Cited
Burney, V. H., & Beilke, J. R. (2008). the Constraints of Poverty on High Achievement. Journal For the Education Of The Gifted, 295-321. Edgerton, J. D., Peter, T., & Roberts, L. W. (2008). Back to the Basics: Socio-Economic, Gender, and Regional Disparities in Canada's Educational System. Canadian Journal or Education, 861-888. Fowler, W., & Walberg, H. (1991). School size, characteristics, and outcomes. Educational Evolution and Policy Analysis, 189-202.

Jackson, S. A., & Lunenburg, F. C. (2010). School performance indicators, accountability ratings, and student achievement. American Secondary Education, 27-44.
Maxwell, L. A. (2012, March 7). Poverty's Role in Education Gets Renewed Attention. Education Week, pp. 1, 22-24.

Toutkoushian, R. K., & Curtis, T. (2005). Effects of Socioeconomic Factors on Public High School Outcomes and Rankings. Journal of Educational Research, 259-271.

Bibliography
Edgerton, J. D., Peter, T., & Roberts, L. W. (2008). Back to the Basics: Socio-Economic, Gender, and Regional Disparities in Canada's Educational System. Canadian Journal Of Education, 31(4), 861-888. Maxwell, L. A. (2012). Achievement Gaps Tied to Income Found Widening. Education Week, 31(23), 1-22. Burney, V. H., & Beilke, J. R. (2008). The Constraints of Poverty on High Achievement. Journal For The Education Of The Gifted, 31(3), 295-321. Myers, S., Kim, H., & Mandala, C. (2004). The Effect of School Poverty on Racial Gaps in Test Scores: The Case of the Minnesota Basic Standards Tests. Journal Of Negro Education, 73(1), 81-98. Bishop, J. H., Mae, F., & Bishop, M. (2001). How external exit exams spur achievement. Educational Leadership, 59(1), 58-63.

Nebbitt, V. E., Lombe, M., LaPoint, V., & Bryant, D. (2009). Predictors and Correlates of Academic Performance Among Urban African American Adolescents. Journal Of Negro Education, 78(1), 29-41.

Bibliography Continued
Toutkoushian, R. K., & Curtis, T. (2005). Effects of Socioeconomic Factors on Public High School Outcomes and Rankings. Journal Of Educational Research, 98(5), 259-271. Jackson, S. A., & Lunenburg, F. C. (2010). School performance indicators, accountability ratings, and student achievement. American Secondary Education, 39(1), 27-44. Hughes, C., Manns, N. N., & Ford, D. Y. (2009). Racial Identity Attitudes and Academic Achievement Among At-Risk Black Female Adolescents. Journal Of At-Risk Issues, 15(1), 25-32. MIRON, G., JONES, J., & KELAHER-YOUNG, A. (2012). THE IMPACT OF THE KALAMAZOO PROMISE ON STUDENT ATTITUDES, GOALS, AND ASPIRATIONS. American Secondary Education, 40(2), 5-27. Strayhorn, T. L. (2010). The Role of Schools, Families, and Psychological Variables on Math Achievement of Black High School Students. High School Journal, 93(4), 177-194. Fowler, W., & Walberg, H. (1991). School size, characteristics, and outcomes. Educational Evolution and Policy Analysis, 189-202.