Note: This is a rough analysis. I have not double checked
the data entry or the computations. The selection of
elementary schools is a biased (non-random) sample. This
analysis should also really be done by numbers of students,
not percentages. However, what this analysis does imply is
that a more accurate and detailed study is called for.
For those of you who don't understand correlation. An "R"
shows the strength of relationship with a number between
0 and 1. 0 indicates no relationship, 1 a perfect
relationship (whenever one thing occurs so does the other).
A negative R indicates that as one thing goes up, the other
goes down (e.g., the larger the percentage of Black students,
the smaller the percentage of teachers with more than 10
years of experience).
The important thing to notice is that at every level
schools with higher percentages of Black students appear
to have fewer experienced teachers and schools with
higher percentages of White students appear to have more.
In a perfect world we would expect to see no relationship
between race and teacher experience. I had expected to
see much smaller correlations, ranging from 0 to 3. The
fact that these are much higher should be enough to
initiate a city wide debate on this issue.
If this data is not formatted let me know and I'll send
you a copy of the spreadsheet. Note: For the statistically
savvy, I think I should have used an "r", but "R" is more
readable.
Please feel free to note errors and offer corrections,
but I don't think that there's anything big enough to
invalidate the implication that students in the most need
of good teaching in Minneapolis, don't get it (if good
teaching can be measured by years of experience!).
On a personal note, if I was the parent of a Black
student I'd be really really angry. And so much for
the "It's the Parents" argument. We were discussing
the responsibility of teachers anyway. Why don't
we try to stick to that topic?
And, for all of my neighbors in Prospect Park who
don't have a clue why I thought that Pratt Elementary
should be a Charter school that would have been open
to everyone, this is why. Talk about social justice!
Michael Atherton
Prospect Park
Drawn from the DOE website:
White Black Years of Exp
Students Students <3 >10
District 27.3% 42.5% 8.0% 56.0%
W. HARRY DAVIS 1.3% 54.0% 6.0% 21.0% R(Black,>10)=
-0.37
HALL 2.5% 75.3% 4.0% 24.0%
R(White,>10)= 0.55
JORDAN PARK 2.9% 59.6% 8.0% 24.0%
NELLIE STONE 2.5% 58.5% 8.0% 31.0%
GREEN CENTRAL PARK 2.7% 37.1% 2.0% 42.0%
PHILLIPS 2.9% 16.7% 2.0% 51.0%
LYNDALE 10.2% 60.5% 3.0% 52.0%
BURROUGHS 71.3% 4.0% 0.0% 56.0%
LORING 29.0% 45.3% 4.0% 56.0%
LINCOLN EL. 1.8% 71.3% 6.0% 58.0%
NORTH STAR 3.5% 74.7% 2.0% 59.0%
LAKE HARRIET UPPER 82.4% 8.6% 0.0% 62.0%
ARMATAGE 58.3% 24.2% 0.0% 65.0%
KENNY 52.7% 27.3% 7.0% 68.0%
BETHUNE 0.0% 72.5% 6.0% 69.0%
LAKE HARRIET LOWER 85.5% 3.9% 0.0% 76.0%
PILLSBURY EL 32.9% 46.4% 0.0% 89.0%
FRANKLIN MID 27.3% 75.1% 13.0% 29.0% R(Black,>10)=
-0.79
OLSON MID 12.5% 57.0% 14.0% 32.0%
R(White,>10)= 0.57
ANTHONY MID 50.2% 38.4% 0.0% 37.0%
FOLWELL MID 12.3% 39.8% 2.0% 40.0%
NORTHEAST MID 35.6% 36.5% 8.0% 44.0%
Field Community 56.1% 26.6% 8.0% 47.0%
SANFORD MID 55.0% 33.0% 3.0% 50.0%
ANWATIN MID 29.7% 49.5% 7.0% 47.0%
NORTH 3.4% 72.3% 9.0% 39.0%
R(Black,>10)= -0.49
HENRY SR. 15.5% 49.7% 9.0% 27.0%
R(White,>10)= 0.67
ROOSEVELT SR. 19.1% 50.1% 7.0% 46.0%
EDISON SR. 20.3% 51.3% 2.0% 48.0%
SOUTH 55.7% 24.0% 2.0% 56.0%
SOUTHWEST 56.2% 17.6% 2.0% 50.0%
WASHBURN SR. 33.1% 48.0% 2.0% 56.0%
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