After reviewing the data in the 2010 and 2016 “Status and Trends in the Educatio
ID: 3492949 • Letter: A
Question
After reviewing the data in the 2010 and 2016 “Status and Trends in the Education of Racial and Ethnic Groups” reports, describe one trend about these racial/ethnic groups that stood out to you. Explain if this trend surprises you or not. Compare and contrast the trend data in the “Student Behaviors” section of the reports: What data categories were similar? Which categories were different or additional between the reports? How can this data be used to alleviate social problems in this population? After reviewing the data in the 2010 and 2016 “Status and Trends in the Education of Racial and Ethnic Groups” reports, describe one trend about these racial/ethnic groups that stood out to you. Explain if this trend surprises you or not. Compare and contrast the trend data in the “Student Behaviors” section of the reports: What data categories were similar? Which categories were different or additional between the reports? How can this data be used to alleviate social problems in this population?
Explanation / Answer
Two decades after Arizona helped pioneer the charter school movement, enrollment data show the schools don’t match the school age demographics of the state and, in many cases, their neighborhoods. White - and especially Asian - students attend charter schools at a higher rate than Hispanics, who now make up the the greatest portion of Arizona’s school age population.
Hispanic students account for 44 percent of all students in Arizona, but they make up just 36 percent of charter school students. White students, who make up 40 percent of the school age population, account for 48 percent of all charter students.
“The mission of public education is to give every child in our state the equal opportunity to excel to the maximum of their capabilities,” said Tim Ogle, executive director of the Arizona School Boards Association. “When you have disparities of opportunity, you are systemically inhibiting some groups over other groups through public policy, and that’s just inherently wrong.”
The Arizona Department of Education hasn’t conducted a formal analysis of the school enrollment demographics, but the agency’s spokesman, Charles Tack, said they’re anecdotally aware of the disparity, and that the data “confirms that there is work to be done.”
Researchers, education policy experts and school administrators say the disparity could be explained by a number of factors. The lack of transportation at some charter schools can provide a barrier, or an “information gap” about the charter school system may affect how minorities choose to participate in it. Parents might simply choose schools where the ethnic profile more closely matches their family.
Arizona lawmakers established charter schools in the 1990s so that parents could send their children to schools specializing in rigor, the arts or Montessori teaching methods, to provide an education more tailored than what was traditionally available in public schools.
Today, roughly 17 percent of all students in Arizona’s public schools attend a charter -- about triple the national average of 5 percent. Only the District of Columbia has a greater portion of charter school students.
Charter schools here receive state funding based on enrollment, and operate independent of school districts. They’re either run by non-profit or for-profit groups. In fiscal year 2014, the state provided $8,041 per student to charter schools, compared to $9,096 per student to district schools. District schools generate additional funding through voter-approved bonds and overrides. These funding streams aren’t available to charters, but they can raise more money through donations and grants.
Arizona’s open enrollment law allows parents to send their children to any school they choose - district or charter - even if it’s outside their neighborhood, provided there is room.
The Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting analyzed school enrollment demographics for public schools in Arizona, categorizing each and then comparing it to the demographic data within the surrounding communities and schools within a 10 mile radius. The analysis provides a snapshot of Arizona school demographics from 2014, the most recent statewide data available. It did not look at elementary schools and high schools separately, because schools have a variety of different grade levels, and ethnicity data is provided only by school, not grade level and school.
While there are exceptions, when charter schools are compared to their neighborhoods and to other nearby schools, data shows that they are more likely to be whiter than the surrounding area, while district schools tend to over-represent Hispanic students.
As a portion of each ethnicity’s school age population, one of every six Hispanic students in Arizona attends a charter school, but for white students, it’s one in every four. Among Asians, it’s one of every three, and for Native Americans it’s one in 10. The trend is more pronounced for charter schools located in more rural communities with fewer school choices, and among specific types of charters.
In both “rigorous” and “progressive” charter schools, more than half of the student population is white, and less than 30 percent is Hispanic. Alternatively, among “at-risk” charter schools, which cater to students at risk of failing out of school, Hispanics make up an overwhelming majority of the students, with white students making up less than 20 percent.
In areas such as Safford, Yuma, Bullhead City and Prescott, where there are fewer district and charter schools, the overall ethnic composition of charter schools skews further white than the state average. In the Tucson area, almost every school with a high ethnic disparity is a charter school.
A 1999 study of Arizona’s then-nascent charter school system found similar trends.
Eileen Sigmund, president and CEO of the Arizona Charter Schools Association, said diversity is good for schools but that the figures shed light on a need for greater awareness of education options.
“Results for students are better if there’s mixed demographics,” Sigmund said. “That is the research and my leaders know it, and they’ll often ask me, ‘How do I get more of a mixed demographic? I’m concerned that I’m not able to serve as many students as I can.’”
Jonathan Butcher, education director for the Goldwater Institute, said charter schools shouldn’t be criticized for their student demographics because being diverse wasn’t the initial goal.
“Yes, we want (charter schools) to serve diverse populations, but I think it’s unfair to criticize them for not doing something that isn’t part of the main goal that they were set up to do,” Butcher said. “Their goal was to give parents more options and to improve student achievement. That’s what they were set up to do.”