PELL STUDY SHOWS INCOME GAP IN 

COLLEGE COMPLETION

If we needed more evidence of the impact of poverty on educational attainment, a new study from the Pell Institute for Opportunity in Higher Education sheds more light on college completion rates among students of different economic backgrounds. The study is summarized in this article from Vox.com.

From the article, written by Libby Nelson: "This chart (from the article) shows the percentage of 24-year-olds with a bachelor's degree based on their family income. Of the top quartile, 77 percent eventually get a degree. In the bottom quartile, just 9 percent do".

The statistics in the Pell study are truly astonishing. For those students from the top quartile who actually enroll in college, 99% graduate. For those who enroll from the bottom quartile, the percentage graduating is 21%.

The importance of poverty in education continues to be illuminated, from preschool to college. Last year, we showed the correlation of free/reduced lunch with preparation for reading in a blog post.

In March, 2014, Zach Goldfarb of the Washington blogged about the relationship between SAT scores and income levels. The SAT is highly correlated with free/reduced lunch percentages in schools, as was shown in this post in Data Points.

Back in 2013, economists Richard Rothstein and Martin Carnoy reported on the website of the Economic Policy Institute about their investigation of the economic conditions underlying the performance of United States students compared with those of students from other participating countries, In their report, "What do international tests really show about U.S. student performance?, Rothstein and Carnoy wrote:

"Because social class inequality is greater in the United States than in any of the countries with which we can reasonably be compared, the relative performance of U.S. adolescents is better than it appears when countries’ national average performance is conventionally compared."

Of course, none of this means that students from poverty cannot achieve, nor does it mean they can't be successful in college. However, specific efforts undertaken by schools (AVID, for example) can help to shift the odds in favor of these students.

AVID Update - Student Success!

The Boise District's Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) program is in its ninth year. From its inception with 85 students at Fairmont Junior High School in 2006-07 to its current status with 1034 students in grade 7-12 across the district, AVID has been a tremendous success.

For readers unfamiliar with the program, here's a brief summary of AVID:

AVID enrollment has climbed steadily as the program has expanded to all eight junior high schools and the five District high schools. In 2014-15, we see the student population stabilize as all high schools have implemented the program. 

The most important goal of the AVID program is that students attend college and are successful. We use National Student Clearinghouse data to verify that AVID students are going on to post-secondary pursuits. Starting with the first AVID graduating class from Capital High School in 2011, here are the statistics for each successive AVID graduating class:

Eleven of the 15 high school graduates in that first AVID class are still in college. Four are attending BSU, 2 are at ISU, and once each is attending UI,  NNU, CWI, Spokane Falls Community College, and Blue Mountain Community College (OR).

The class of 2012 started out strong, with 90% of its 39 members entering college the semester after graduation, compared with the District average of 59%. In year 3, 54% of the class members are still attending colleges and universities.

Class of 2012 AVID graduates are attending Idaho (4), BSU (6), ISU (2), C of I (5), CWI (1), Austin (TX) CC (1), Pepperdine University (1), and Grand Canyon University (1).

The class of 2013 saw expanded numbers as Borah and Capital combined had 68 AVID graduates. 47 of those graduates (69%) are in their sophomore year of college.

Class of 2013 AVID students are attending the following colleges: BSU (15), Idaho (6), CWI (12), College of Idaho (4), and one each at the University of Utah, Baylor University, Seattle University, Graceland (IA) College,  Carrington College, Stevens-Henager College, Eastern Oregon University, Northern Arizona University, Prince George's (MD) CC and ISU.

Eighteen (18) of the 2014 grads are attending BSU, 8 are at Idaho, 7 at CWI, 3 at ISU, and one each are attending Oregon State University, Hawaii Pacific University, Brigham Young University, Eastern Oregon University, Whittier College (CA), Willamette University (OR), LCSC, and University of Nevada-Reno.

All told, 178 students from the AVID program have graduated from Boise Schools, and 147 (83%) entered college the first semester after graduation. Sixty-nine percent (69%) of AVID high school graduates are still attending college, pursuing their dreams of a degree.

Here Comes the SBAC ISAT 2.0

The SBAC test is now referred to as ISAT 2.0, a moniker sure to confuse parents and media as we head into the first “real” administration this spring of the new Common Core – based assessments in math and reading. Idaho is part of a 21-state consortium which will use the Smarter Balanced assessments. There is another consortium of states which will use the PARCC (Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers) assessments.

Much of the issue with testing, as we see it, is at the federal level, where the USDOE mandates that all students at grades 3-8 and once in high school take assessments in order to comply with the No Child Left Behind law and receive federal funding allocations for low-income schools, Special Education, and other areas.. Though some national legislative efforts to overhaul the law and reduce federal involvement in education are underway, it’s uncertain how far they will proceed.

GRADE LEVELS TESTED

The State Department of Education has indicated that the tested grades for the SBAC will be 3-8 and 10, with 9^th and 11^th grades offered as options for districts which want to test. Students taking the SBAC will take separate English Language Arts and Mathematics assessments, each lasting 3-4 hours per student.

The SBAC recommends that 11^th grade be the high school testing grade for the SBAC , but Idaho has chosen to administer the test in 10^th grade, to avoid conflicts with the SAT and to provide opportunities for “banking” scores once the test becomes a graduation requirement.

The Idaho Department of Education  is recommending that current 9th and 11th graders take the SBAC as well, in order to prepare 9th graders for the coming 10th grade tests, and to provide 11th graders with an indication of :college and career readiness".

Tenth graders will also take a new Science End of Course test in Biology or Chemistry.  The Science EOCs are currently in development, and will be written by Idaho teachers. Ninth graders are not allowed to take the EOC because of Idaho’s waiver agreement with the U.S. Department of Education. This is unfortunate, since as many as 350 9^th graders in the Boise District are currently enrolled in Accelerated Biology.

CUT SCORES

Using data from last year’s field tests, “cut scores” for the SBAC have been established. These data allowed the SBAC Governing Board to estimate the percentages of students that will achieve “passing scores” on this spring’s SBAC. 

Estimates are that 41% of 11^th graders will achieve proficient or advanced scores in Language Arts across the SBAC consortium, and that 33% will “pass” the math test. 

However, since 10^th graders will take the 11^th grade test in Idaho, the passing percentages will undoubtedly be lower.

HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION REQUIREMENT

The SBAC will be used to judge “college and career” preparedness among Idaho students. Pending State Board approval in February, beginning with the class of 2019 (current 8^th graders), passage of the Math and English Language Arts SBAC tests and of one of the two EOC’s (Chemistry or Biology) will also be a requirement for high school graduation. 

In other words, two years from now, 10th graders taking the two SBAC tests and the Science EOC will be required to pass each of those assessments in order to graduate from high school. Eleventh grade retakes will be required for students who do not pass as 10th graders, and districts will offer some sort of "alternate path" coursework to seniors who still have not passed the exams.

RAMIFICATIONS

Among the issues with the SBAC administration will be the definition of “college and career readiness”.  There is no doubt that many students who have completed dual credit classes and acquired college credit will be judged on the SBAC as not prepared for college and career, and be subject to remediation in high school and as entering college students. Others may have completed a certificate in Welding or in Auto Tech/Auto Body, and be at risk for high school graduation because they do not “pass’ the SBAC.

Yet these students, whether they take dual credit academic classes or professional-technical courses, will have successfully completed college and career level curricula.

Additionally, some students may earn a “college ready” score on the SAT, administered in junior year, while scoring “Basic” or Below Basic” mark on the SBAC.  What exactly, then, will determine if a student is ready for college and/or career?

More to come on this topic as the time for testing nears. The testing window for the SBAC  and the Science EOC is March 30-May 22. 

Boise District Class Size Updated

In April, we posted class size data for the Boise District, and distinguished between average class size and student-teacher ratio. Following is the 2014-15 update of average class size for the District.

As the economy improved and property values began to increase within the District boundaries, the Boise Board approved reduction of the 2012 voter-approved levy. Initially, though voters approved a $14 million levy, the District ran the levy for only $12 million. For the 2014-15 school year, the Board unanimously approved lowering the amount of the levy to $6.5 million. The purpose of the levy was to maintain or reduce District class sizes.

ELEMENTARY CLASS SIZE

Here is the average elementary class size in the Boise District since 2003-04, updated with the 2014-15 data point:

JUNIOR HIGH CLASS SIZE

At the junior high level, average class sizes dropped by .7 from 2013-14 to 2014-15.  

Here are average junior high class sizes by department. Note that in only two departments, Music and Technology, are average class sizes higher in 2014-14 than they were in 2013-14. In every other department, 2014-15 sizes are lower.

In the chart below, average class sizes by junior high are displayed  for 2013-14 and 2014-15.

SENIOR HIGH CLASS SIZE

Boise District senior high class sizes had been trending downward for several years, when, in 2014-15, District high schools moved from a 6-period day to 7 periods. Class sizes dropped again as a similar number of senior high students took additional offerings.

However, the class size trends were not distributed evenly among departments. Students took additional electives in order to fill their schedules, and, in departments which offer only electives (Technology, Art, Business, Marketing, Human Development) average class sizes  increased (though they are still relatively low).

In departments which offer primarily required courses ("core subjects") average class sizes dropped. These departments included Math. Social Studies, Language Arts, and Science.

Finally, here are senior high average class sizes by school for 2013-14 and 2014-15:

Where are the Engineering Grads?

Previously, we indicated that 143 Boise Schools alums from the high school classes of 2007-2010 had graduated with degrees in Engineering. Here’s a little deeper dive into information about those students.

The distribution of specific majors among the Engineering grads shows that Mechanical Engineering (47) is the most popular major, followed by Civil (27)  and Computer Science/Engineering (24).

Fifty –six percent (56%) of the 1700 degrees earned by Boise District students were earned at Idaho universities, and the percentage is the same for Engineering degrees, with 45 earned at the University of Idaho, another 30 at Boise State University, and 3 from other in-state universities.

We are working with the Idaho Department of Labor to ascertain where the Engineering graduates are living and working. However, we did some less formal, unscientific research to get an idea of the patterns. We looked  at just the classes of 2007-2009, since the earliest grads of the the high school class of 2010 just matriculated in May 2014. It appears that the large majority of in-state graduates are working in Idaho, and an even larger percentage of the out-of-state graduates are living and working outside of the state of Idaho.

Most of the out-of-state Engineering grads are living and working in large cities in the west, such as Denver, Salt Lake City, Seattle, and San Francisco, often near the universities and colleges they attended. Many of the in-state Engineering grads are working at established local engineering firms and start-ups.

Colleges and Majors of 4-year College Grads - Boise School District

In the last Data Points post, we provided information about students in the high school classes of 2007-2010 who have graduated from 4-year colleges. Following is more information about those students – the colleges they attended and individual major areas of study.

Of the 1700 Boise District students who have graduated, about 46% graduated from one of two universities, Boise State University (28%) or the University of Idaho (18%). Four other institutions graduated 2% or more of the Boise Schools total: the College of Idaho (3.4%), Idaho State University (2.9%), Brigham Young University (2.1%), and the University of Oregon (2%). Boise students also graduated from 207 other universities and colleges, spread across 34 states and the District of Columbia.

Most Boise District students attend and graduate from public institutions of higher education. The following chart shows the public colleges and universities with the highest number of Boise Schools grads. The University of Oregon has traditionally been a popular school for Boise District students, but the University of Utah has gained considerable ground in the past few years. Western Washington University attracts 5-7 Boise District students a year to its Bellingham, Washington campus.

Boise District students who graduate from private colleges attend a diverse range of schools. Here are the private colleges that graduated the highest number of Boise District students.  About 12% of the College of Idaho’s total enrollment comes from the Boise School District. Westminster College in Salt Lake City and the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma have long recruited students from the Boise District.

It’s interesting to consider the specific majors of graduates, especially now that we have such a large number and major area patterns are more reliable. A full 6% of all graduates majored in Biology, with Business and Psychology close behind. Of interest was the fact that Mechanical Engineering was 9^th on the list with 47 graduates, a bit higher than we expected. Here are the top 30 individual majors of Boise District college graduates.

In the last post we indicated that STEM majors were more popular among Boise students than majors in any other area. Going further, we were interested in Engineering majors in general. How many were there in total, and what schools did they attend?

What we found was that, altogether, 143 Engineering degrees have been earned thus far by Boise Schools graduates in the classes of 2007-2010. Of those, 45 were earned at the University of Idaho, and 30 at Boise State University, along with two at Idaho State University and one at Northwest Nazarene University. So 56% of those degrees were earned at in state universities.

Of the Engineering degrees earned out of state, 8 were earned at the University of Utah, 5 at the University of Colorado, 5 at Gonzaga University, and 3 each at Montana State University and Purdue University – West Lafayette. Of note, the three degrees from Purdue were in Chemical, Electrical, and Nuclear Engineering.

STEM Degrees – Highest Percentage Among Boise College Grads – and Climbing

Among the Boise District high school graduating classes of 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010, 1,700 students have graduated with 4-year college degrees. A higher percentage of Boise Schools 4-year college completers have graduated with degrees in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math than in any of the other areas of focus, such as Business, Health and Exercise, Education, Performing and Creative Arts, and Social Sciences.

Majors by Field of Study

When we combined the degrees of college grads in the four classes, here is what we found:

In a previous post, National Clearinghouse research referred to the classification scheme used by the National Science Foundation for STEM degrees, which included social sciences and psychology in its science and engineering category. We have made social sciences a separate category and included many of those majors therein.

STEM Popularity Growing

A look at  the individual classes from 2007-10 shows that the percentage of STEM majors has grown for each successive class, and indication that those majors are becoming increasingly popular among Boise Schools grads matriculating from 4-year universities.

Most Popular STEM Majors

So, what are the most popular STEM majors among Boise Schools college grads? Well, here are the top 10:

Note that over a hundred graduates have majored in Biology, almost 23% of the 445 total STEM degrees earned. Coming in a distant second is Mechanical Engineering, with 47 degrees, just over 10% of the total. However, the 4 major engineering degree areas, Mechanical, Civil, Computer, and Electrical, accounted for 116 degrees, or 26% of the total number of STEM degrees awarded.

Post Script – Concerns with National Clearinghouse College Entry and Retention Data

An article yesterday by the Washington Post's Valerie Strauss in her Answer Sheet blog pointed up potential flaws found in National Clearinghouse data in college-going patterns among New York high schools. Data analysis done by principals found that NSC direct college entry percentages were often up to 15% lower than what was found by the administrators.

We've decided to do some checking into Boise District college-going patterns. Last year, we found some anomalies in the NSC data for our 2013 Century Scholars, with some top students listed as not attending college when they were enrolled at prestigious universities across the country. Though the differences were not to the degree reported in New York, we plan to have a critical look at the data for Boise 2014 District high school grads in the weeks to come, and report the results in this blog.