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

Metro City Area Senior High Schools
Hamilton Township High School is located in a community adjacent to Metro City.
The campus covers 60 acres, the size of a small college. Built for a population
twice the current size, the school includes huge athletic fields, six gymnasiums,
extensive computer rooms with the newest equipment, a vast library, an auto
body shop, a printing room for the school newspaper, woodworking shops, fully
equipped chemistry laboratories, and a day care center.
Students at Hamilton scored above average on math and science tests. The student
body reflected the composite racial distribution of the neighborhoods it served,
with almost identical proportions of whites and African-Americans, about 45 per-
cent each, with the remaining 10 percent made up largely of Hispanics and Asian
Americans. About 30 percent of the students were from low-income families, and
under 10 percent of the students were of limited English-language proficiency.
The student mobility rate was 12 percent. The graduation rate was almost 90 per-
cent.
Springdale High School is located in an older middle-class neighborhood in a sub-
urb bordering Metro City. The foursquare block campus sits among well-kept mid-
dle-class homes. The school has three computer labs for student use, nine gyms,
two pools, and three theaters.
Students from the school scored above average in statewide tests of both math
and science proficiency. About two-thirds of the students at Springdale High
School were white. African-Americans comprised over one-quarter of the student
body. The community prided itself on being racially integrated. Less than 10 per-
cent of the students were from low-income families. About 1 percent of the stu-

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dents had limited English-language proficiency. The student mobility rate was 14
percent. The graduation rate was nearly 85 percent.
Uptown High School is a large urban school located in the heart of the city and
surrounded by small shops and old brick apartment buildings. The turn-of-the-cen-
tury building, which has experienced considerable wear, has an imposing classical
entrance. However, this entrance was closed, because all students had to be fun-
neled through one narrow side entrance in order to pass through security guards
and metal detectors.
Students at Uptown scored well below average in state tests of math and science
achievement. The majority of students failed to meet state goals in math and
science; furthermore, 19 of 20 students at Uptown failed to meet state standards
of writing. About 40 percent of the students were African-American, 30 percent
Hispanic, 20 percent Asian American, and 10 percent white. Nearly four of every
five students were from low-income families and nearly a third were limited
English proficiency. Student mobility rates at the school were approximately 30
percent. The graduation rate at Uptown was less than 50 percent.
South Central Vocational High School, a 100-year-old school surrounded by an iron
fence, is located in the inner city in a neighborhood of abandoned buildings,
empty lots, and several large housing projects. To maintain security there was only
one open entrance through heavy steel doors, where everyone entering had to
pass through metal detectors. Some 20 surveillance cameras assisted the principal,
teachers, and security staff in monitoring the halls. The hallways were lined with
damaged lockers, the limited computer equipment was obsolete, broken basket-
ball rims dangled from their posts, litter was strewn around the old oak running
track, and throughout the school the paint was chipped and peeling.
South Central students were among the lowest scorers in the state on tests of
math and science achievement, and the average entering student reads at the ele-
mentary school level. Over 90 percent of the students were African-Americans.
About 7 percent were white, and there were small numbers of Hispanics and
Asian Americans. According to the principal, most of the students came from
three Metro City area housing projects, although the school accepted students
from a wide geographical area. More than half of the students were from families
certified as low income; some were homeless and lived on the street. Daily attend-
ance was low, reported at 50 percent, although several teachers indicated that the
figure might be closer to 25 percent. Only 20 percent of the students graduated.

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