Money and School
Analysis and Depiction of Money at a Secondary Educational Level
Introduction
When it comes to educations and money everyone always thinks straight to college, financial aid, scholarships, tuition, text book prices, etc. Although this can be a problem. There is a major problem arising, that is the cost of students attending primary and secondary schools. No I'm not talking about private schools but instead public schools.
Many people think that public schools are generally free of cost, which tuition wise yes! For sure they are free in tuition, but its hard to put into perspective how much we really spend on resources for our education.
Given recent infographic written by "Grade Power Learning" we are given this list of the amount of money spend on a student at each grade level.
Here we can see that parents spend a lot on College Prep Materials, SAT Course and Materials, Cost for Exam Registration, ACT Courses Materials, and Cost for Exam Registration.
"For children attending public school from Kindergarten to 12th Grade, parents can expect to spend a total of roughly $162,899.86 on their child’s education and related activities."
Bonita Vista Senior High School
Being a freshman at Bonita Vista High School and community member of the Sweetwater Union High School District, this dilemma hits really close to home. Now being in High School I have started to think finically about my education, given that AP test cost money.
My goal in high school was to do well academically and take as much of these rigorous course as I possibly could. To some students this can easily be accomplished but for other not so much.
Since these course tests cost money, many students might not be able to afford for these tests. In theory this can be really discouraging and can be disadvantaging for those that want to pursuit a high education.
The really question is "How does money affect a students education at a secondary level?"
In the map presentation below we'll be focusing on relations ships between diffrent data layers, comparing two layers and geographically analyzing each to see what possible solutions are available to help secondary students pursue for higher education.
Money at a Household Level
Household Income 2018 Census Track
In this first layer we are introduced to the distribution of House Hold Income across San Diego County.
Click on the bottom left button to see Legend
We can see that there are many areas in San Diego that seem to be more wealthier then others. While this is an interesting layer we need to focus on what we call My district Boundary.
This area has an uneven distribution, as you can see there is more yellow (refer to the Legend) to the western part of the area then to the eastern area.
Most of the wealthier areas of of the district are to the eastern side of the 805 (Interstate that runs though the area.)
This can be very concerning as many students and schools having diffrent fluctuating amounts of income, this leads to the thought of unequal educational attainment.
Attendance, Income, and FRPM Layers
The Sweetwater Union High School District contains 13 High Schools and 11 Middle Schools across the South Bay. These High Schools and Middle Schools are distributed pretty evenly covering big areas of the district.
In this map two new layers were added on, the School locations, and the School Attendance Areas.
With the slider feature we are able to slide on the Attendance Areas on to the Income layer. Here we can start to visualize what schools in the district are located in these high and low income neighborhoods.
Household Income and Attendance Areas
The relationship between Household Income and School Attendance Area is key. With the slider map it is very easy to tell what schools are in what areas.
In this case we can zoom into the Eastlake HS Attendance area (Refer to Legend) slide the slider slowly to see the relationship between Income and Attendance Area.
As you can see Eastlake is within the high income area of the district. Meanwhile Chula Vista HS is in that of the lower income area. You can see that there is an uneven distribution across the whole district that puts many students at a disadvantage.
FRPM Percentage
Another good way to determine weather if a school is located in a high or low income neighborhood is by checking the FRPM (Free/Reduced Price Meals) percentage. Essentially with this information we can easily depict the number of students that are receiving financial help.
How to open data layer, ArcGIS Project
FRMP percentages can give a clear depiction of what schools are helping the students in need. For a student to apply for these free/reduced meals their household has to be at a certain income level.
Bar Chart of Data Layer
(Compare Olympian HS to Sweetwater HS)
With this chart you can see how 4 of the 13 High schools have a lower percentage of students that do receive "Free/Reduced Meals."
These 4 school are located in the wealthier part of the district compared to the other schools that are in the poorer part of the district.
Free/Reduced Price Meals mean that students get lower priced meals or in some cases free meals. Many students although don't qualify for such opportunity.
Students that don't qualify for for FRPM can generally end up spending hundreds of dollars a year for food at school. This can quickly start to add up to families, especially for those with much larger families.
FRPM and AP Participation
During the time I was signing up to take an AP test I was told to fill my FRPM form to see if I would apply to reduced AP Exams prices. I did not apply for the reduced prices on the AP Exams.
For many this may be very valuable especially since lower priced Exams could encourage students to take the exams. Well at least that is the thought. As we see in the map it generally looks like even with the FRPM students in the low income areas (as previously discussed) seem to not take AP test even with the reduced prices.
(click on legend to visualize pattern)
AP Exams can be very crucial for students future in education as these Exams count as College credits and with taking enough exams your college tuition will decrease dramatically.
Course Enrollment vs Number Tested
Here we can see a graph that compares Course Enrollment and the Number that Tested. We can see that lost of students enroll for these AP courses but not many take the exam.
Even with all the help and preparation students just seem to not take the exam. Some factors affecting this trend might be discouragement. Students might be aware that families cant afford these exams and even with applying for FRMP they may not want to pursue taking any AP courses/exams.
Another factor that might affect this trend might be that some students don't apply for FRPMs in general. Some of the low income students that don't apply could also possibly miss out on reduced exam prices.
Even more Mapping
As we understand this idea of that money is an essential resource for our education. We need to comprehend the location and relationship of a students success at a secondary education.
The UC system has a requirement list of courses need to take in order to attend their school. This List is known as the "A-G Requirements" . These requirements are also simulated at the secondary level.
SUHSD A-G Requirements (Example)
UC A-G Requirements (Example)
The A-G requirements consist as follows:
- A - History
- B - English
- C - Math
- D - Science
- E - World Languages
- F - Fine Arts
- G - Academic Electives
Many Students are able to complete these courses just fine, but other not so much.
In the next map well start layering various data on a map and make relationships and questions. These relationships and questions will revolve around that idea of money and school. Like in the previous maps well be comparing House Hold Income but instead of FRMP and AP Exam participation percentages well be using High School Graduation and Courses Taken.
These two layers are also very important as some students may require tutors in the case that a student might not understand, and we'll also see how graduation rate is affected by area of wealth.
Mapping Secondary Educational Success
Graduation Rates Vs Income
The goal for most students is to make it out of Highschool and/or either go to college or not. Now that we understand the distribution of the income within The Sweetwater Union High School District
Here we can see that Graduation Rates indeed fluctuate according to ones income. These low income areas seem to have less Graduation Rates then the High wealth areas.
(Hover over the legend)
As we slide the slider across the map we can see that exact pattern. But why might that be?
As we talked about the A-G course requirements, we know that there are a number of credits required to graduate.
In the Sheet we can clearly see that class availability is no problem. Most students that don't end up gradating, have missing credits. Students get missing credits from having F's.
One way we can relate the F's/missing credits to household income is by thinking of tutoring. These students generally struggle in certain subjects and need help. To most help can be acquired by tutoring and some tutoring can cost money. Something some families might not be able to afford.
In general high school students need lost of resources that may cost money. These resources can be fundamental for their success in their secondary educational career.
Graduation College Enrollment compared to Income
Now that we understand the relationship between Graduation rates and Income, lets dive in deeper and see the number of students that do enroll into college.
(DO keep in mind we are NOT acknowledging College cost)
As we can see that the pattern is somewhat the same most of the graduates that end up enrolling to college are in these higher income areas. These students are exposed to many resources that help them out during they're high school career.
With both maps we can clearly see that there is an uneven education attainment across the whole district. Remember that for colleges to accept a student (mainly UC Schools) a student must complete the A-G requirements.
As previously discussed the students must need to pass the classes taken to get the credit required to be accepted at the UC schools.
District Performance Overview Report
As we move along I wanna end this blizzard of information with one final key point of information.
Thanks to the Department of Education of California I was able to find this final report by using a Data Base call "DataQuest."
If you scroll all the way down you'll find 4 areas with data. Taking a look at the second one titled "Socioeconomically Disadvantaged" we can see that an overwhelming 59.6% of the district is disadvantaged.
What's the fix?
Now that we understand this problem that money is not just needed for college but for secondary level students. What can be done to fix this problem.
One solution to this is that the district funds and schools accordingly to what schools need it the most. Doing so this may actually open up many programs at different schools, such tutoring, one one sessions, summer programs, etc. We can also start up programs that raise money from the whole community of the district. Programs like, backpack with supplies to give to those students that don't have the opportunity to get supplies. The littlest of help and donations from all schools can do well for these kids indeed.
I remember one fundraiser done by Tri-M (Music Honors Society) at "Bonita Vista Middle", where they had asked for donations of backpacks and school supplies and donated these backpacks to the poorest school in the south bay area. While though this wasn't in our district it was a way to help those families that couldn't afford supplies.
Another solution that could be done is to advertise the importance of FRPM at school. Remember how there is the possibility that students might not fill these applications. If a school was to advertise the benefits from this form it can be very helpful for these students. Many students would now also be encouraged to benefit from these reduced prices.
College Board Image
While these proposals are pretty easily done there is one that would ultimately help many students not just in my district but across the U.S. That would be talking to "College Board" bring this problem to their attention that students aren't having the opportunity to test like the rest, can help maybe bring down the prices for these exams. Of course we wont expect a change soon but maybe with pointing this out we can actually get somewhere.
I would encourage not only students at my school and district but many students across America to bring this problem into perspective and be aware of how many students aren't so lucky in getting their education. Even spreading awareness can help all these students.
Conclusion
Money is the most valuable resource one needs to succeed in education. This is the sad reality, but given now the understanding of how secondary scholars spend their money and what resources need money. We must now ask ourselves "What can we do to help?"
Thank you for your time and thank you for reading this story map!
