Identifying New York State School District Achievement Outliers

Craig C. BensonState University of New York at Geneseo

Association of American Geographers Annual MeetingApril 8, 2014

Abstract/Background

Education then, beyond all other devices of human origin, is the great equalizer of the conditions of men, the balance-wheel of the social machinery. Hoarse Mann (n.d.)

Is this still true today?

Background National K-12 School Stressors:

Financial/funding Not producing college and workforce ready graduates New standardized curriculums Societal/poverty

Question:How are school districts responding to these stresses in NYS? What can be said about current performances?

Are there school districts in New York State responding to these stressors better or worse than what would be predicted based on a number of factors?

Study Space

Methods 642 NYS School Districts data base creation Ranked by performance APM 3rd Grade ELA Score Grouped into quintiles Sub sample of 91 intra-performance outliers

identified Spatial analysis of factors – urban/rural setting Analysis of outlier features

General Results

District /surrounding community financial status

Scatter of District 3rd Grade and Graduation Performance

0 128 256 384 512 6400

128

256

384

512

640

NYS SCHOOL DISTRICTS

Graduation APM District Ranking

3rd

Grad

e a

vg. E

LA a

core

rank

ing

0

5

10

12

18

4

2

20

4

17

RESULTS

• Two different levels, consistent or anomalous performance

• consistent: high or low scores respectively correlated with high or low income communities.

• anomalous: - strong performance in one but not both measures. 90 districts

• Size made a difference for APM performance among outliers

• Majority of performance outliers outside of urban areas

RESULTS

The achievement outliers were primarily rural

1:1 2:2 3:3

4:4

5:5

ResultsFactors HS Better n= 44 3rd Grade Better

n= 46District size 1131.5 917Median Income 53,321 51,261% White Collar (median) 51.75 51.6Adult Educational Attainment ( % BA or Higher)

21 20.9

Nearby 4 year college 61.36 % 64.44%Pre- K Program 56.81% 46.66%Urban proximity 36.36 % 42.22 %

Results – Mapped by Ranking Category

Conclusions

• In NY relationship between income and achievement• Differences between urban/ suburban and rural

performances• Performance outliers diverge from expected

patterns – to do elementary or secondary education better but not both – largely outside of large urban areas

• In terms of New York State Education at the current time: Place matters

Data Sources/Future work/Acknowledgements

Many Aspects that can be further explored :• Comparison of education programs at outlier schools• Case study • Other factors tested for statistical significance• Other states- National level• What if any policy implications does this have? Income inequality maintenance?

Data:• Horace Mann. (n.d.). BrainyQuote.com. Retrieved April 6, 2014, from BrainyQuote.com Web site:

http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/h/horacemann137201.html

• NYS GIS Clearinghouse• NYSED• US Census Bureau

I would like to acknowledge Dr. Darrell Norris for all of his assistance on this project