State test scores indicate school system isn't serving any group of students particularly well...no matter where you live

So, you move into a nice neighborhood thinking you're also getting decent schools, but new research suggests otherwise. Many families are finding their childrens' education isn't making the grade.

MAMMOTH TIMES PHOTOS/SUSAN MORNING

The Pacific Research Institute (PRI), a free-market think tank based in California, recently announced the release of a groundbreaking book on the performance of students in “middle class” public schools. Not As Good As You Think: Why the Middle Class Needs School Choice found that in nearly 300 schools in middle class and affluent neighborhoods, more than half the students in at least one grade level performed below proficiency on the 2006 California Standards Test (CST)—the statewide test that assesses student grade level knowledge.

Some people believe that good local schools have a decisive impact on property values and this was a point of contention during the recent debates regarding putting Measure “S” on the ballot, a measure that narrowly passed. The outcry from many of the Measure “S” advocates was that better schools make for better property values, but the fact of the matter is that our schools, according to recent test scores, aren't doing that great.

During an interview with the Mammoth Times, co-writer of Not As Good As You Think: Why The Middle Class Needs School Choice Vickie Murray said she thinks that the problem within our local schools reflects a much broader problem found within the public education system in California. “The system isn't serving any group of students particularly well,” Murray said. “Here's another way to look at it. If you look at the results on the Nation's Report Card, which is also known as the Assessment of Educational Progress, the proficiency rates of kids who are not poor, on average, show six out of 10 are below grade level proficiency. What we found was that the problem in California is not just in California. All is not well in suburbia.”

The Mammoth Unified School District wasn't included in the book because the authors' threshold was to have fewer than 33.33 percent of the students at poverty level, and in our school district, that isn't the case. “Many of the parents of students are working in the resort industry and a majority of the students are considered in poverty,” Murray said.  “Of the students at Mammoth Elementary School, 51 percent are on the reduced lunch program, and 56 percent of students are considered socio-economically disadvantaged by the state, which means that between 40 and 60 percent of MES students are eligible for Free Lunches, too many at poverty level to be considered for the research done within the book.”

Murray, however, did her own research on the schools in our area. “Mammoth High School is where it gets really interesting,” she continued. “They missed our cutoff by four-tenths of a percentage point. That means they didn't meet the two poverty variables needed for our research, which was to have fewer than 33.33 percent participating that were eligible for free lunches as well as the needed percentage of students who are classified as socio-economically disadvantaged by the state.” According to state figures, 33.6 percent of the students at MHS are classified as socio-economically disadvantaged. As per the California Department of Education website, "Socio-economically disadvantaged" is defined as:

• A student whose parents both have not received a high school diploma
  
  OR
  
• A student who participates in the free or reduced-price lunch program, also known as the National School Lunch Program (NSLP)

Murray said that just because MHS didn't make their book doesn't mean that parents shouldn't be concerned. The median home price, according to the Forbes List in our area is more than $800,000, a huge jump from the census done in 2000 when the median price for homes in our area was $239,000. Murray said that Mammoth Lakes is an affluent area and even though it didn't make their threshold for the book, it isn't a school that enrolls a lot of socio-economically disadvantaged children. “All teachers in the MUSD are certified and only nine percent of the students are classified as having a disability so any way you look at it MHS is not a disadvantaged school,” Murray said, “so one would expect the test scores on the CST and the early assessment test to be very high for 11th graders.”

Murray looked up the 2006/2007 scores for the MUSD and on the CST in English/Language, only 48 percent of the 9th graders were proficient or above. Of the 10th graders, 39 percent were proficient or above. Only 25 percent of 11th graders were proficient or above. According to records kept by California, only 21 percent of the students at MHS are designated English Language Learners. Additionally, the Early Assessment Program is a test taken during the junior year and is optional. Students don't have to take it, but of the MHS students who did during the 2006/2007 school year, only 19 percent were deemed college ready.

So where is the connection between an area where there is very little crime, no highly disadvantaged students and low test scores? One would think that by looking at the test scores alone that MUSD is part of an inner city district. “Regardless if the homeowners are primary or second homeowners, parents of high schoolers have every right to expect that their kids are going to be proficient in the basics of English and math,” Murray pointed out.

Murray and her crew of researchers at PRI found that one out of 10 affluent suburban schools in California is under performing, so how far up the ladder do we go? “Usually when parents are looking to buy a home these days they are not looking at the marble countertops; they are looking at the home based on how the schools are doing,” Murray stated. “Families are stretching their budgets to the breaking point in order to move into neighborhoods for free public schools that fail to deliver. This is a serious public policy concern, not just for parents but for students who aren't getting the education they deserve.”

Murray and PRI seem to agree that the California legislature needs to let schools have more control over their budgets so they can do what's best for students. PRI also feels that parents need the freedom to pick whatever school they want regardless of income or where they live. They need to be able to make an informed choice and the state needs to start to report grade level proficiency publicly every year based on individual student performance, not school-wide performance.