A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | |
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1 | WHAT THINGS HAVE THE GREATEST IMPACT ON A SCHOOL DISTRICT'S COMBINED GRADE ACCORDING TO THE DATA? | |||||||||
2 | RS | Correlation Rating | Category | Explanation | Caveats and/or Possible Explanations | |||||
3 | 70 | Strong Positive | ACT Scores | students performing well on ACT tests | --- | |||||
4 | 68 | Moderately Strong Positive | Value-Added Growth All Grades Math | students improving their math scores on standardized tests | --- | NOTE: This is a ranked list of most of the various categories of data used in this analysis. It should be noted that a score above 70 indicates a strong correlation. A score above 30 indicates a moderate correlation. A score over 5 indicates a weak correlation. A positive correlation means that as that value increases, the measured effect also increases. A negative correlation means that as that value increases, the measured effect decreases. An explanation and caveat for each are provided as needed. | ||||
5 | 65 | Moderately Strong Positive | Value-Added Growth All Grades ELA | students improving their ELA scores on standardized tests | --- | |||||
6 | 46 | Moderate Positive | Percentage of Teachers Retained | higher the percentage of teachers returning from previous year, the better | --- | |||||
7 | 40 | Moderate Positive | Graduation Percentage | higher the percentage of students graduating, the better | --- | |||||
8 | 38 | Moderate Positive | Teacher Salary as Percentage of Total Expenditures | higher the percentage of expenditure going towards teachers' salaries, the better | --- | |||||
9 | 35 | Moderate Positive | *Immunization Exemption Percentage | higher the percentage of exemptions, the better | To understand this connection will require additional research. | |||||
10 | 36 | Moderate Positive | Unrestricted Funds Percentage of Total | higher the percentage of funds schools can choose how to spend, the better | --- | |||||
11 | 25 | Weak Positive | Foundation Funding as Percentage of Total | higher the percentage of funds from foundation funding, the better | --- | |||||
12 | 25 | Weak Positive | *School Choice | more school options have a positive effect | The home school option is the biggest contributor, so the same caveat applies here. Private schools and other forms of school choice also are not widely available in areas with poor performing schools throughout the state. School choice seems to benefit the wealthy more than the poor. | |||||
13 | 22 | Weak Positive | Number of Students per Classified Employee | more students per classified employee show a slight positive effect | This likely is due to freeing up more money that can go towards teachers, educational materials, etc. rather than non-instructional type expenses. This does not indicate there is no benefit to secretaries and janitors. Schools cannot function without these individuals. | |||||
14 | 23 | Weak Positive | Percentage of Teachers with Master's Degree | more teachers with Master's degrees show a slight positive effect | --- | |||||
15 | 21 | Weak Positive | Teacher Salary | higher teacher salaries help attract and retain quality teachers | --- | |||||
16 | 20 | Weak Positive | Percentage Growth of Student Population | schools with increasing student populations fair better | --- | |||||
17 | 20 | Weak Positive | *Home School Enrollment Percentage | more students opting to homeschool has a positive effect | The data here seems to suggest the correlation is more of a reflection of the relationship between per capita income and homeschooling than it is necessarily a contributing factor to improving the local public school. Homeschooling is really only an option for families who can afford it. | |||||
18 | 20 | Weak Positive | Percentage Spent on Instructional Costs | higher the percentage of the total expenditures towards instructional costs, the better | --- | |||||
19 | 15 | Weak Positive | Number of Students | larger schools have a slight positive effect | --- | |||||
20 | 13 | Weak Positive | Years of Teaching Experience | *more years of teaching experience shows a slight positive effect | The correlation has tripled this school year from the previous years (over 30% correlation). This might indicate experienced teachers are better equipped to help students with learning loss from covid than novice teachers. | |||||
21 | 10 | Weak Positive | Hiring More Teachers | more teachers on campus has a slight positive effect | --- | |||||
22 | 10 | Weak Positive | Millage | higher local millage rate for property tax shows a slight positive effect | --- | |||||
23 | 9 | Weak Positive | *Student/Teacher Ratio | higher student to teacher ratio has a slight positive effect | This does not mean a higher ratio is better, rather, when you look at the data as a whole, it would suggest this is due to smaller, poor performing schools having a lower ratio of students to teachers which skews the correlation in favor of a higher ratio. | |||||
24 | 8 | Weak Positive | *Class Size | more students per class has a slight positive effect | The rational here is the same as the student/teacher ratio. The small, poor performing schools have smaller class sizes due to low student populations which skews the correlation towards larger class sizes. | |||||
25 | 8 | Weak Positive | Percentage Spent on Special Education | higher the percentage of the total expenditures towards special education, the better | --- | |||||
26 | -6 | Weak Negative | Percentage of Gifted & Talented Students | higher the percentage classified as G/T, the worse | This needs more investigation, however, the effect is so small, it is almost negligible. | |||||
27 | -12 | Weak Negative | Percent of Students Who Enrolled in Other Schools Mid-Year | higher the percentage of students who left mid-year, the worse | This needs more investigation, but this could be a sign of a higher percentage of migrant families in lower performing schools. | |||||
28 | -12 | Weak Negative | Property Tax Revenue per Student | higher the amount of property tax revenue per student, the worse | Not entirely clear. | |||||
29 | -18 | Weak Negative | Total Percentage of Drop Outs/Withdrawals | higher the percentage of students who drop out or withrawal from school for any reason, the worse | --- | |||||
30 | -20 | Weak Negative | *Number of Classified Staff per Teacher | higher the ratio of classified staff to teachers, the worse | When more staff are used for non-instructional purposes, it takes some funding away from teachers and instructional content. | |||||
31 | -23 | Weak Negative | Percentage of Funds Spent on Support Services | higher the percentage of funds spend on non-educational support services, the worse | --- | |||||
32 | -23 | Weak Negative | Percentage of Teacher Attrition | higher the percentage of teacher turnover, the worse | It is difficult to improve the school culture in a school where the teachers change yearly. The lack of continuity or familiarity can negatively impact students learning. | |||||
33 | -25 | Weak Negative | Percentage of Students Retained | higher the percentage of students required to repeat a grade, the worse | --- | |||||
34 | -25 | Weak Negative | Percentage of Inexperienced Teachers | higher the percentage of inexperienced teachers, the worse | These are teachers with fewer than three years of experience. | |||||
35 | -30 | Moderate Negative | *Percentage of State Funds Restricted | higher the percentage of state funds with restricted use, the worse | When schools are given funds but are not given the freedom to use those funds in the ways they best see fit, the worse schools perform. A lot of funds given to schools often have very stringent rules. It's possible poor performing schools have additional guidelines on how funds can and should be spent. | |||||
36 | -41 | Moderate Negative | *Percentage of Federal Funds Restricted | higher the percentage of federal funds with restricted use, the worse | When schools are given funds but are not given the freedom to use those funds in the ways they best see fit, the worse schools perform. A lot of funds given to schools often have very stringent rules. It's possible poor performing schools have additional guidelines on how funds can and should be spent. | |||||
37 | -45 | Moderate Negative | Percentage of Teachers with Exceptions | higher the percentage of teachers not fully licensed in the areas they are teaching, the worse | --- | |||||
38 | -50 | Moderately Strong Negative | *Per Pupil Expenditures | higher the per pupil expenditures, the worse the school performs | This needs more investigation, but presumably, the worst performing schools have the most needs and are thus eligible for additional funding from local, state, and federal sources. | |||||
39 | -60 | Moderately Strong Negative | *Free and Reduced Lunch Percentage | higher the percentage of students on FRL, the worse the school performs | Socioeconomic concerns are one of the biggest factors impacting the lives of students. |