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

Metro City Area Junior High/Middle Schools
Vanderbilt Middle School is located in the affluent community of Rolling Hills near
Metro City. Expansive lawns and large homes dominate the area around the
school. The school is exceptionally well maintained and has recently been profes-
sionally landscaped. The average home in the area costs approximately half a mil-
lion dollars, providing property values that create a rich tax base for the school.
Per-pupil expenditures in the district are nearly double the state average and
teacher salaries are also relatively high.
Students at Vanderbilt Middle School scored well above average in math and
science. More than 95 percent of the students at Vanderbilt were white. The larg-
est minority population is Asian Americans, who comprised about 3 percent of
the student body. Student mobility rates were below 5 percent. Around 2 percent
of the students came from low-income families, and about 1 percent was of lim-
ited English-language proficiency.
King Junior High School is located in a moderate to low-income community near
Metro City. Although the school is located near congested retail areas, the school
itself is somewhat insulated by a well-kept working class, older neighborhood. The
area is one of the more integrated neighborhoods in the city. About 60 percent
of the students at King were white, a third were African-American, 3 percent were
Hispanic, and another 3 percent were Asian or Pacific Islander. Only about 5 per-
cent of the students came from low-income families, and less than 1 percent were
of limited English-language proficiency.
Overall, test scores for students at King indicated performance in the middle range
for the state. The student mobility rate was just under 5 percent. Spending per
pupil exceeded the state average by a small amount. Teachers salaries in the dis-
trict also exceeded the state average.
Metropolitan School is located in a poor inner-city neighborhood that serves as
one of the major ports of entry for immigrants to the United States. Local housing
consists entirely of multiple-family dwellings. The school is an old fenced-in, three-
story building, with an asphalt lot for a playground. A surge in the neighborhood

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population had created severe overcrowding in the school, and auditoriums and
gymnasiums had been converted to classroom use. A recent solution to the prob-
lem has been the move to a year-round calendar, with one-quarter of the students
out for vacation at a time.
Student scores on math and science achievement indicated performance that is
below average for the state. Almost two-thirds of the students were African-Amer-
ican and just under one-third were Hispanics. Fewer than 5 percent were white.
Over 90 percent of the students came from low-income families, and 1 in 5 stu-
dents were of limited English-language proficiency. The student mobility rate was
over 80 percent.