For Immediate Release:
September 25, 2007

SAN FRANCISCO – The Pacific Research Institute (PRI), a free-market think tank based in California, today announced the release of a ground-breaking book on the performance of students in "middle class" public schools. Not as Good as You Think: Why the Middle Class Needs School Choice, which was supported by a generous grant from the Koret Foundation, found that in nearly 300 schools in middle class and affluent neighborhoods, more than half of 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. Many of these schools are located in California’s most affluent areas including Orange County, Silicon Valley, and the Los Angeles beach and canyon communities.

Studies show that parents are willing to purchase houses well beyond their means for what they believe is an opportunity to send their children to "good" public schools. Not as Good as You Think shatters the myth that buying a home in an expensive neighborhood also buys a "good" public school.

"While many middle class parents recognize the need for reform in schools located in poor, urban neighborhoods, they are often under the mistaken impression that because they live in safe, well-to-do suburbs, the schools attended by their own children are very good," said Lance T. Izumi, director of Education Studies at PRI and co-author of the book.

The authors defined a "middle class" school as one in which less than one-third of the students qualify for California’s free or reduced lunch program. The study provides school-by-school data on the percentage of students that performed below proficiency in the CST English, elementary math, algebra 1, geometry, and algebra 2 exams; the median price of the homes in the neighborhood; the percentage of parents who attended college; and the percentage of teachers who have full teaching credentials. For example:

• In Orange County, California—where home prices range from $600,000 to $1 million—in more than a dozen schools located in areas such as Newport Beach, Capistrano, and Huntington Beach, 50% to 80% of students failed to test proficient in math at their grade level.
• In the Grossmont area of San Diego—where the median price of a home is approximately $500,000—in seven high schools, 50% to 70% of students failed to test proficient in English at their grade level.
• At Prospect High School in Saratoga California—a Silicon Valley community where the median price of a home is $1.6 million—less than half of 10th and 11th graders scored at or above proficiency in the CST English exam. Only 12% of students taking the CST algebra 1, 23% of students taking the CST geometry exam, and 37% taking the CST algebra 2 exam scored at or above proficiency.

College Readiness

The authors also compared proficiency rates on the 11th grade standards tests with the California State University system’s 2006 Early Assessment Program (EAP). The EAP is a voluntary exam taken by 11th graders designed to assess their readiness for college-level English and mathematics. The impetus for this part of the study was to understand why a very high percentage of freshman—up to 60%—entering the California State University need remedial courses. In many "middle class" schools, the gap in what the state considers "proficient" and what Cal State University deems "college-ready" is more than 40 percentage points.

"The disparity between the two tests underscores the failure of schools to prepare students for higher education and suggests that an alignment of standards is necessary to close this gap," said Mr. Izumi. He added, "Parents at these schools have no problem paying for a college education, whether the kids can succeed past freshman year is the bigger question."

For example:

• Only 24% of 11th graders at Newport Harbor High in Newport Beach, Orange County, tested college-ready in English on the EAP, even though 52% scored at or above the proficiency on the CST English exam—a 28-point difference. Newport Harbor High was designated a California Distinguished School in 2007.
• Only 28% of 11th graders at Dos Pueblos High School in Santa Barbara tested college-ready for English on the EAP, even though 59% of the students scored at or above proficiency on the CST English exam—a 31-point difference.
• Only 23% of students in San Marin High School in Marin County tested college-ready for English, even though 47% of students scored at or above proficiency on the CST English exam—a 24 point difference.

In addition to the comprehensive analysis of student performance in "middle class" schools in California, the book also discusses some of the underlying factors that contribute to this underachievement:

• Financial mismanagement of school officials. The book features two case studies in the Capistrano Unified and San Mateo Unified school districts—school districts located in affluent communities.
• Collective-bargaining agreements, school board policies, and regulations that diminish teacher accountability. The book scores teacher union contracts, board policies, and regulations of a sampling of school districts of "middle class" schools in the book.
• Widespread myths that undermine support for school choice among middle class parents.

 

"The findings of the book clearly demonstrate that families in poor, urban neighborhoods aren’t the only ones who need school choice. All families regardless of income or address, need it," said Vicki E. Murray, Ph.D, PRI senior fellow in Education Studies and co-author of the study. "Unlike the current system of assigned schooling, empowering parents to choose the schools they think are best—public or private—introduces powerful pressure to improve academic performance or risk losing students to schools that will."

Download Book and other features

###

About PRI
For 28 years, the Pacific Research Institute (PRI) has championed freedom, opportunity, and individual responsibility through free-market policy solutions. PRI is a non-profit, non-partisan organization. http://www.pacificresearch.org/.