History of IDEA
Jeannie Oakes, Founder and Former Director
Youth Voice in School Finance
NEW REPORT: Los Angeles' road to A-G for all
Without Dollars and Sense Powerpoint
Past Educational Opportunity Reports
Study: State's academic goals, means far apart
The San Jose Mercury News - November 8, 2007
By Sharon Noguchi
California has set the bar high for academic achievement but hasn't given schools the tools to enable most students to succeed, a study by two University of California-Los Angeles professors reported on Thursday.
In addition, the California Educational Opportunity Report 2007 study (www.edopp.org) found that many African- American and Latino students attend segregated schools and are more likely to face hurdles to success.
Even in the South Bay, in areas known for stellar schools, spending and achievement lag. For instance, all districts spend less per-pupil, adjusted for the cost of living, and have more students per teacher than the national average.
And although fewer students here attend segregated schools, even districts that boast high test scores show markedly less success in teaching, and graduating, Latino and African-American students.
The study looked at what's called the "college opportunity ratio," comparing the proportion of ninth-graders who end up graduating and passing the courses required for admission to the University of California.
For Homestead High School in Cupertino, the ratio was 100:90:53 - that is, of 100 ninth-graders, 90 graduated four years later and 53 had passed the UC required courses. But for the school's underrepresented minorities - largely black and Latino - the ratio was 100:64:14.
For Independence High School in San Jose, the entire school ratio was 100:73:28, and for its underrepresented students it was 100:51:7.
There are exceptions. Del Mar High School in San Jose, for instance, has closed the gap between traditional high- and low-achieving students. Del Mar's ratios were 100:65:19 school wide and 100:59:10 for underrepresented minorities.
Matthew Dean, a trustee of the Campbell Union High School District, credited Principal Jim Russell as well as district wide efforts to close the gap. Engaging parents has been a key to success, Dean said. "What we do is to let parents know what the requirements are, to build the vision that (college) is a possibility," he said.
California's high-school graduation rate fell to a nine- year low in 2006, a dip attributed to the requirement that students pass the high school exit exam.
It's unfair to expect students to pass the high-school exit exam if they haven't been given adequate opportunities to learn, the researchers said. Their study reported that too many high school students lack access to counselors, college-preparation courses, well- trained teachers and reasonable class sizes.
These shortcomings more often afflict segregated schools - those enrolling 90 percent or more Latino and African- American students - said the study by education Professors Jeannie Oakes and John Rogers.
But even schools outside poor neighborhoods suffer from lack of resources - part of the reason, the researchers suggest, that California students lag behind their peers nationwide. For instance, more than one-quarter of state middle- and high-school students attend overcrowded schools. In segregated schools, the figure rises to two-thirds. "California lags in fundamental learning opportunity and learning outcomes, regardless of race and income," Oakes said.
Researchers also pointed out that in California:
• Math classes in secondary schools are the largest in the nation.
• The ratio of school counselors to students is 556-to-one, compared with a national average of 229-to-one.
• The number of students per teacher is 23.5 in middle schools and 21.8 in high schools, compared with national ratios of 15.8 and 15.4, respectively.
• Nearly a million high school students attend schools that don't offer enough college-preparation courses for all students.
As a result of these and other conditions, the report notes, "California has not invested in the conditions necessary for schools to achieve these high standards and meet the requirements of the state's tough accountability mechanisms."
The state ranks 48th among states in the percentage of the senior class that attends a four-year college after graduation.
Across the board, California students generally perform worse when compared with students from other states. For instance, excluding poor students, the state's white eighth-graders rank behind all but students in six states in national reading and math tests
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