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Dayton Daily News education reporter Scott Elliott writes about schools, kids, teaching and learning.
Home > Blogs > Get on the Bus > Archives > 2008 > April > 10 > Entry
Survey results: What do they mean?
I dug a little deeper today into the school questions on the survey announced yesterday that was conducted by Wright State University.
For those who want to see the actual questions, you can read them by following the “continued” link. I also included cross tabs showing how key demographic groups — divided by neighborhood, income, race, homeownership and education level — responded to the question of how they would rate the quality of Dayton schools.
There are some interesting additional insights:
—The education questions could be more specific. They do not even mention charter schools or list charters as an option when asking people what kinds of non-DPS schools their kids attend. Some people actually don’t understand that charter schools are public schools but not part of the school district. Some think they either are district schools or private schools.
—It is interesting that the district’s quality rating has made a statistically significant jump from 2001 to the present. That is the very time period during which charter schools exploded. It is hard to know if the two are correlated in any way or if this is just a coincidence. That time period also coincides with the reign of Gail Littlejohn and Kids First. But again, it’s hard to know whether it is fair to draw the conclusion that this means city residents felt Kids First made things better.
Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce President Phil Parker pointed out to me that the district did have some big changes that could be viewed as successes from 2001 to 2007: Voters swept out the pre-Kids First school board, Percy Mack and Stan Lucas were hired, the bond levy passed, the district emerged from academic emergency with test score gains, new schools were built and new school options (DECA, boys and girls schools, etc.) were launched.
—It’s also hard to know what to make of the survey’s results showing people cited the construction of new schools as a reason for why they are rating the district’s quality better. Have people visited the schools and judged them better equipped to educate kids? Or do people just feel better about the district when crumbling old buildings are replaced by shiny new ones? We cannot tell from the survey results, but I’d sure like to know.
—The racial divide is again evident in the cross tabs. First, black survey respondents were far more likely to rate the district high compared to white repondents. Then neighborhoods with more black residents rated the quality of schools much higher than neighborhoods with more white residents.
—One other interesting tidbit: The more money and education respondents had, the less likely they were to consider the district high quality. So it was lower income and less educated respondents who thought the district was good or excellent.
Take a look at the questions and cross tabs and let us know what you think:
School-related survey questions:
1) How many children live in your household who are old enough to go to school, K-12?
Zero 77.5 pct
One 10.8 pct
Two 6.6 pct
Three 3.1 pct
Four 0.9 pct
Five 0.7 pct
Six 0.2 pct
2) How many of these children attend Dayton Public Schools?
Zero 8.9 pct
One 7.1 pct
Two 3.3 pct
Three 1.8 pct
Four 0.6 pct
Five 0.3 pct
Six 0.1 pct
3) Why don’t all your children attend Dayton Public Schools?
Private school 3.6 pct
Parochial School 1.1 pct
Does not live in the city of Dayton limits 0.7 pct
Does not like the city of Dayton school system 3.2 pct
Other 1.5 pct
4) Would you rate the quality of Dayton Public Schools as:
Excellent 5.7 pct
Good 21.8 pct
Fair 26.2 pct
Poor 38.8 pct
Don’t know/refused 12.8 pct
5) Why do you rate them this way (Excellent or Good)?
Positive personal experience 13 pct
They are trying to make improvements 6.3 pct
Good teachers 2 pct
Other 3.6 pct
Don’t know/refused 2.6 pct
6) Why do you rate them this way (Fair or Poor)?
Media/Word of mouth 10.1 pct
Low proficiency test scores 12.7 pct
Poor budget management 4 pct
Lack of training for teachers 3.3 pct
Not enough teachers 1.4 pct
Lack of discipline 6 pct
Other 20.4 pct
Don’t know/refused 2.5 pct
7) Who do you believe sets policy and operates Dayton Public Schools? Would you say:
The Dayton mayor and commission 14.6 pct
Someone else 70.5 pct
Don’t know/Refused 14.8 pct
Cross tabs by key demographics
Neighorhoods: Percent who said Dayton Public Schools was excellent or good
Northwest 43.5 pct
Innerwest 47.6 pct
Southwest 45 pct
FROC 27.9 pct
Northeast 19.7 pct
Southest - North 25 pct
Southest - South 23.3 pct
Race: Percent who said Dayton Public Schools was excellent or good
Black 45 pct
White 22.2 pct
Other 26.6 pct
Income: Percent who said Dayton Public Schools was excellent or good
Household income less than $15,000 43.7 pct
Household income between $15,001 and $25,000 39.9 pct
Household income between $25,001 and $35,000 33.1 pct
Household income between $35,001 and $45,000 30 pct
Household income between $45,001 and $55,000 21 pct
Household income between $55,001 and $75,000 23 pct
Household income between $75,001 and $85,000 16.7 pct
Household income over $85,000 13.1 pct
Home ownership: Percent who said Dayton Public Schools was excellent or good
Homeowners 29.7 pct
Renters 35.8 pct
Education level: Percent who said Dayton Public Schools was excellent or good
Less than a high school education 38.8 pct
High school graduate or GED 38 pct
Some college or technical school 29 pct
College graduate 23.8 pct
Post graduate work or degree 20.3 pct
Permalink | Comments (10) | Post your comment | Categories: Dayton Public Schools
Comments
By Caroline
April 13, 2008 7:24 PM | Link to this
That is ridiculous to say that people from the east side don’t like the schools because of discrimination.By Rick
April 13, 2008 10:12 AM | Link to this
Scott, I do not see evidence of discrimination, but rather indicia. A lot of east siders have heard of others who have experienced discrimination. While they do not have that direct experience, their feelings toward the school district are lessened because of what they have heard.By Worried DPS Parent
April 12, 2008 10:19 PM | Link to this
I realise the survey was not DPS specific, but when 77% of respondents DO NOT have any kids in the DPS system, are the stats worth the proverbial paper they’re written on?By Scott Elliott
April 12, 2008 6:44 PM | Link to this
Rick, where do you see evidence of discrimination against white students in these numbers? I noticed none of the respondents cited discrimination as a reason for giving the district a poor rating and even discipline concerns, an issue you often point to for why white east siders are not support of the schools, were not cited by many either.By Rick
April 12, 2008 5:17 PM | Link to this
The more educated people were the lower they rated the schools. As for the racial disparity, yet more indicia of discrimination against white students.By Siquomb
April 11, 2008 2:14 PM | Link to this
Keep in mind that the survey was not intended to be an in-depth survey on DPS, but on life in Dayton overall. The Daily News ran a misleading headline when it said survey respondents gave DPS “high marks.” Higher than recent surveys, yes, but low overall, with around two-thirds answering fair or poor.By Eve
April 11, 2008 6:52 AM | Link to this
The entire survey and answer statistics are available on the city’s website. The overall responses are generally more upbeat about living in the city of Dayton than I expected. Fascinating reading.By Barb
April 10, 2008 10:17 PM | Link to this
Thanks for the breakdown Scott. It was useful information yet probably the information many people expected to see.By Riverdale Ghost
April 10, 2008 9:11 PM | Link to this
Need one more breakdown: Is person responding solvent? Yes _ No _ From Merriam-Webster online dictionary: 1 : able to pay all legal debtsBy Concerned Mom of 3
April 10, 2008 6:26 PM | Link to this
The detailed analysis of the survey responses made for some interesting reading. Thank you for following up with more information.