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An alternative analysis
If we define truly exceptional schools as those with at least three grade levels scoring in the upper one-third in reading, we are down to 20 schools in California. Let's take a closer look at the 20: In two cases, the schools did not qualify as high-poverty, even according to the very modest standard set by Ed Trust.1 For the other 18, a look at SAT9 scores shows that only four of the schools actually had all three classes in the upper one-third in reading, based on California's standards, and none qualified as a high-scoring school using national standards. Of the four that qualified in California, one was a magnet school. The high-scoring classes in the three other schools had a total of 391 children. In one, the Steinbeck school, high scorers in two grades (3 and 6) scored much lower on the language portion of the SAT9 (36 and 30).2
Poverty has a powerful effect
The Ed Trust report is actually a stunning confirmation of the overwhelming effect of poverty. Even with a very loose definition of high performance, few schools perform in the upper one-third and a careful look at one state reveals that even fewer qualify. California has about five million children in school. Ed Trust claimed that about 230,000 were in high-poverty high-scoring schools for reading. According to this analysis, the real figure is less than 400. It is extremely difficult to "defy the odds." Poverty has a powerful effect on educational attainment.
Notes
| 1. | The Raoul Wallenberg school reported only 41.5% and Richmond only 36.4% of their students on free or reduced price lunch. Wheatland Union had 50.5% and Pescadero had 50.8% on free and reduced lunch. These were included as "high-poverty" schools. |
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It is a lot easier to place in the upper 1/3 in California than
in the most other states; California ranks at the bottom in
reading among states in the USA. State averages are really low in
grade 2 (30th percentile), 9 (33rd), 10 (33rd) and 11 (37th). The
fifth, sixth and eighth grade CA average is 43. All are under the
national average of 50.
Even using this lower standard, only four schools in California had three grade levels that actually scored in the upper 1/3 for reading: Borrego Springs (81 children), Bravo Magnet (about 1000 children), Steinbeck (193 children) and Kernville (117). Three out of four grades nominated by Ed Trust actually qualified at Steinbeck and Kernville. For Kernville, grades 4, 5 and 6 met the standard, but there were few disadvantaged children in grade 5. Ten of the 18 schools had no grade levels meeting the California standard for the upper 1/3: Costano, Cottonwood, Florence, Happy Camp High, Hayfork High, Kernville, Muir, Surprise Valley, Surprise Valley High, Van Duzen. In five schools, results were mixed: At Clairemont, grades 9 and 10 qualified, but grade 11 did not. For the Language Academy, grades 3 and 4 qualified, but not the subset of disadvantaged children. Grade 7 did not. For Pescadero, two of the three grades did not qualify. Grade 5 did, but not the subset of disadvantaged children. For Perry: grade 3 qualified but not grades 5 and 6. At Wheatland, grade 9 qualified, but not the subset of disadvantaged children. Grade 10 qualified but grade 11 did not. |
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