This is reprinted from a letter sent out from Robert Bligh of the Nebraska Association of School Boards. These facts below were conclusions arrived at through a study that looked at Nebraska State Assessment scores at Class A schools in Nebraska and free/reduced lunch rates at the schools.
This makes a strong case for the value of preschool education for students from low income families. And not just "play-based" preschools, but preschools that will provide academic skills to improve each students chances for academic success in the early elementary grades and beyond.
The facts about "good" schools and "bad" schools in Nebraska include the following:
1. Schools that have the highest concentration of students who live in affluent households tend overwhelmingly to have very high average academic achievement scores and, therefore, strong reputations as “good” schools.
2. Schools that have the highest concentration of students who live in impoverished households tend overwhelmingly to have very low average academic achievement scores and, therefore, strong reputations as “bad” schools.
3. It is quite easy to assign surprisingly accurate test score results to schools and school districts based solely on student poverty data.
4. Students who live in affluent households tend strongly to perform academically as well in high poverty (“bad”) schools as they do in low poverty (“good”) schools.
5. Students who live in impoverished families tend strongly to perform academically as well in low poverty (“good”) schools as they do in high poverty (“bad”) schools.
6. The level of academic success of a student is not a result of which school that student attends.
7. The level of academic success of a school is overwhelmingly the result of which students attend that school.
