Archived: The Educational System in the United States: Case Study Findings

West City Area Schools
West Elementary School is at the center of a low-income neighborhood, a commu-
nity of small bungalows with gardens. The school is made up of long single-story,
pink buildings with classrooms opening up to breezeways. The school playground
is paved and the central play yard is brightly painted. Classrooms appear well
stocked and personalized with colorful educational material and artwork. Students
score below average on achievement tests administered statewide. The student
population was about 75 percent Hispanic, 20 percent Asian, 3 percent African-
American, and 1 percent white. Students with limited English proficiency made
up 62 percent of the student body, and nearly 90 percent were from low-income
families. The mobility rate is 33 percent.
West Middle School is located in a low-income section of West City, a neighbor-
hood of small single-story homes with chain link fences and often with iron bars
on the windows. The school, a single-story building of parallel wings opening
onto breezeways, is dark, with little student work or school material on display.
But community members have worked to built an attractive and modern activity
center just behind the school and have planted new playing fields.
Students scored below average on achievement tests administered statewide. The
school served a population that was 77 percent Hispanic, 17 percent Asian, 3 per-
cent African-American, and 1 percent white. Sixty percent of the students had lim-
ited English proficiency, and 85 percent were from low-income families.
West High School is located in a low-income district of West City. The campus
includes clusters of single-story buildings with low tile roofs, a central courtyard,
terraces with grass and trees, an outdoor amphitheater, tennis courts, and sports
fields. The diverse student body included 43 percent Hispanics, 38 percent Asians,
7 percent whites, and 5 percent African-Americans. Several other groups rep-
resented the remaining 7 percent.
Students at the school performed below state averages in both the mathematics
and verbal sections of the state achievement test. Approximately 40 percent of
the students were from low-income families, and 46 percent had limited English
proficiency.