Education
Analysis shows improvement in schools
Krista J. Stockman of The (Fort Wayne) Journal Gazette used state education test data to compare results since the fall of 2000, finding that “the majority of Indiana schools have more students passing standardized tests.” The paper analyzed scores for third, sixth, eighth and 10th grades, because those were the only grades tested in both…
Read MoreState’s teacher salaries outpace national average
Maria Sacchetti of The Boston Globe used state education records to show that “average teacher pay in Massachusetts jumped 37 percent during the last decade, to $53,529 last year.” That’s a larger increase than teachers nationwide, and Boston schools pay an average teacher salary of $69,022.
Read MoreYouth charity fails to deliver on promise
Collins Conner and Bridget Hall Grumet of The St. Petersburg Times investigated the Florida Youth Conservation Corps, which receives a state no-bid contract to help maintain highway rights of way in exchange for providing jobs and scholarships to its young employees. “FYCC said 46 trainees got scholarships from 1999 to 2003, but none came out…
Read MoreSchool crime numbers higher than reported
Liz Chandler, Peter Smolowitz, Melissa Manware and CAR specialist Adam Bell from The Charlotte Observer report on their findings that more crime in being committed in Charlotte schools than is being reported by the school district. The investigation found “1,473 crimes reported to police at schools, 631 of them violent or threatening.” Compare that to…
Read MoreHate crimes rise in Los Angeles school district
Naush Boghossian and Lisa M. Sodders of the Los Angeles Daily News use data from the Los Angeles Unified School District police to investigate an increase in hate crimes in the district. “Hate crimes in Los Angeles’ public schools have surged more than 300 percent over the past decade…” They found that almost all of…
Read MoreSchool fails to submit project warnings
Dave Altimari and Grace E. Merritt of The Hartford Courant obtained records showing that “at least four University of Connecticut officials were aware of problems found in a 1999 audit of a $1 billion construction program but not disclosed to state legislators. Most of those problems were never fixed, and the school failed in subsequent…
Read MoreMinorities face tough discipline
Melissa Jenco of the Daily Herald analyzed Illinois education data to show that “racial disparities in discipline are not just a suburban trend. Statewide, during the 2002-03 school year, the expulsion and suspension rate for black students was three times higher than for white students. There were similar disparities for Latino students, too.”
Read MoreMany school bus drivers have bad records
Cynthia Kopkowski of The Palm Beach Post, with assistance from William M. Hartnett and researchers Krista Pegnetter and Angelica Cortez, reviewed school bus accident data and motor vehicle records for 130 drivers to find that “nine drivers have been charged with crimes within the past 10 years or within several years of being hired. One…
Read MoreSchool police accused of profiling
David Tarrant and Paula Lavigne of The Dallas Morning News investigated allegations of racial profiling by campus police at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, finding that “police search minorities more often than Anglos after traffic stops.” In addition, there have been complaints about pedestrian stops, which campus police do not keep…
Read MoreVoucher system shows benefits, failures after 15 years
Alan J. Borsuk, Sarah Carr and Leonard Sykes Jr. of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel investigate 15 years of vouchers in Milwaukee in a seven-part series. They found that “…56% of the students enrolled at Catholic elementary schools in the city of Milwaukee participate in choice.” They also discovered that it’s tougher to assess the quality…
Read More