Some of the most popular, well read, and commented upon posts on Dekalb County School Watch have revolved around redistricting. Posters have accused the county of trying to zone apartments into particular schools while leaving some schools with students primarily from single-family dwellings. Complaints have arisen about the feasibility of busing children to a new school while they can walk to their present school. Many others have expressed fears of property values declining. But worries about their children being zoned out of high performing schools into lower performing schools has arguably been the most constant and commented upon concern of parents.
Since many of the comments regarding redistricting have come from Fernbank parents who perceive that their children are being redistricted from a higher performing Fernbank to a lower performing Briar Vista, we’ve chosen to use the performance data of these two schools to gain some perspective. Fernbank was chosen as an example because of the volume of posts on the county online survey. Almost 1 out of 10 of the responses came from Fernbank, far more than any other school except Oak Grove. In addition, Fernbank comments have been numerous on the Dekalb County School Watch blog as well as Maureen Downey’s “Get Schooled” blog. Unfortunately, we don’t have the time or space on this blog to analyze each and every redistricting and consolidation scenario, but it is our hope that the following academic performance comparisons of these two schools will provide some guidance in using available objective data rather than relying on hearsay and opinions.
The statistics below are simply facts and figures, and in no way do they reflect on the emotions that are evoked when a child changes from one school to another. Any parent who has had a child change schools knows that changing schools is a tough experience. DCSS redistricting is not a decision that should be taken lightly and should ONLY be done in conjunction with cuts in areas OUTSIDE the classroom.
Parents need to ask that savings from cuts in the non-teaching areas are detailed and made public so they understand their children have not been sacrificed on the altar of jobs preservation. In addition, any savings that accrue from redistricting and consolidation need to be explained and made public with benchmarks established to show that this painful process has yielded and continues to yield savings that go DIRECTLY into the classroom for students.
2010 AYP numbers for Briar Vista and Fernbank show that among the test takers of the 2010 math and reading CRCT if you are Black, White or Asian, you will probably score equally well in either school.
Since no Hispanic students were listed in the Hispanic subgroup at Fernbank, no comparison was possible for Hispanic students.
The Economically Disadvantaged percentage being much higher at Briar Vista along with the greater ESOL population percentage appears to have had the effect of a 12% difference between Fernbank and Briar Vista in the OVERALL average for Math scores and an 9% difference in the OVERALL average for Reading scores.
Economically Disadvantaged refers to your number of students on Free and Reduced Price lunch, which generally equates to low-income households. ESOL (English Speakers of Other Languages) means you don’t speak the English language proficiently. For example, most of us non-Spanish speakers would not fare so well on a Spanish math or reading test if we had only lived in a Spanish speaking country for a year or two. Not enough information was given to say what the subgroup percentages are in either ESOL or Economically Disadvantaged.
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Look at the figures below for Briar Vista and Fernbank taken directly from the 2010 NCLB numbers on the state of Georgia DOE website. Be sure to check these numbers out for yourself. No one is perfect, and contrary to popular belief, this blog does not have a paid staff:
I. 2010 Test Scores:
A. Briar Vista:
1. Math Performance based on the CRCT:
82% of the students MEETS+EXCEEDS in Math.
The rates of MEETS+EXCEEDS for Black students is 81% and White students is 97% so both groups did well. The Hispanic rates of MEETS+EXCEEDS is 68%. The rate for MEETS+EXCEEDS for Asian/Pacific Islander students is 92%.
2. Reading Performance based on the CRCT:
89% of the students MEETS+EXCEEDS in Reading.
The rates of MEETS+EXCEEDS for Black students is 98% and White students is 96% so both groups did extremely well. The Hispanic rates of MEETS+EXCEEDS is 80%. The rate for MEETS+EXCEEDS for Asian/Pacific Islander students is 92%.
B. Fernbank:
1. Math Performance based on the CRCT:
94% of the students MEETS+EXCEEDS in Math.
The rates of MEETS+EXCEEDS for Black students is 83% and White students is 96% so both groups did well. The rate for MEETS+EXCEEDS for Asian/Pacific Islander students is 100%.
2. Reading Performance based on the CRCT:
98% of the students MEETS+EXCEEDS in Reading.
The rates of MEETS+EXCEEDS for Black students is 98% and White students is 99% so both groups did extremely well. The rate for MEETS+EXCEEDS for Asian/Pacific Islander students is 100%.
II. Diversity of the test takers:
A. Economically Disadvantaged: Fernbank: 18% Briar Vista: 54%
B. Students With Disabilities: Fernbank: 9% Briar Vista: 13%
C. Blacks students: Fernbank: 21% Briar Vista: 19%
D. White students: Fernbank: 53% Briar Vista: 28%
E. Asian/Pacific Islander: Fernbank: 18% Briar Vista: 9%
F. Multi Racial Students: Fernbank: 4% Briar Vista: 0%
G. Hispanic: Fernbank: 0% Briar Vista: 40%
H. ESOL: Fernbank: 9% Briar Vista: 25%
In conclusion, it appears that when comparing subgroups, Briar Vista can hold its own academically with Fernbank even though it has a greater number of ESOL students and a much greater number of Economically Disadvantaged students. I know this thread won’t allay all the concerns that Fernbank parents have. However, it is always prudent to look at the data in order to make a fair comparison. Perhaps that will resonate with some of the parents who read this blog.
BTW - I came away from this analysis very impressed with this little school tucked away in on tree lined Briar Vista Terrace. The administration, faculty, and parents of this small school deserve much respect, applause and support.
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Many thanks to one of our regular contributors for digging into this data and providing the facts for this insightful report.
