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Why are there 1.2mill dollar houses in a mediocre school district.
According to Zillow the house I seen falls into L.H. Tanglen Elementary and according to great schools it ranks a 5/10.
Can anyone describe the neighborhood feel of Hopkins?
There are areas of most 1st ring/older suburbs that will have public housing & low rent apartment complexes near the highways. I'd break Hopkins into three areas. 1) The town of Hopkins/downtown. There is a small town feel to Hopkins, with a great main street. It's classic housing stock, affordably priced, safe & extremely walkable. 2) Then you have the more expensive, more suburban feeling parts that are newer, are part of Hopkins but not in the town of Hopkins proper (that's where you're seeing the million dollar listings I'd bet? 3) Just off the highway & on the far Western end of downtown Hopkins as you enter from the East, you'll see some pretty shady looking apartment complexes. I get the feeling most people just choose not to turn up that street & instead by pass them by a couple of blocks before turning into Downtown Hopkins.
As for the schools...The ones that take these low income/minority kids will see their test scores come down. Not the way it should be, just the way it is. Look at Plymouth, Hopkins, SLP, Robbinsdale, Roseville, et al and they almost always have one or two grade schools that are amazing (the expensive part of town, very few poor/minorites) & one or two that are just ok (where the low income kids attend). Hopkins also draws a LOT of low income African American family's from North Mpls due to their amazing basketball programs. Think of it like a magnet school for kids who play basketball. Those kids usually don't test at the same level the suburban kids do & drag down the overall test scores. At Tanglen Elementary the African American kids average a 3 of 10 on standardized test scores, while the white kids average an 8 of 10, which brings the median average to a 6 since there's far more white kids. At Hopkins High School the African American kids score an average of 3 out of 10, while the white kids score a perfect 10 of 10. If I'm a white family that's all I really need to know. My kids are going to do just fine. If I'm an African American family I'm going to be looking for a school where African American kids really excel.
Both of these are excellent explanations of the shortcomings of looking at average scores when comparing schools. The lower the percentage of poor performing students, the higher the average score at the district or school level, neither of which is a reliable predictor of individual student performance.
They clearly did a good job of teaching statistics in the schools you two went to!
There are areas of most 1st ring/older suburbs that will have public housing & low rent apartment complexes near the highways. I'd break Hopkins into three areas. 1) The town of Hopkins/downtown. There is a small town feel to Hopkins, with a great main street. It's classic housing stock, affordably priced, safe & extremely walkable. 2) Then you have the more expensive, more suburban feeling parts that are newer, are part of Hopkins but not in the town of Hopkins proper (that's where you're seeing the million dollar listings I'd bet? 3) Just off the highway & on the far Western end of downtown Hopkins as you enter from the East, you'll see some pretty shady looking apartment complexes. I get the feeling most people just choose not to turn up that street & instead by pass them by a couple of blocks before turning into Downtown Hopkins.
As for the schools...The ones that take these low income/minority kids will see their test scores come down. Not the way it should be, just the way it is. Look at Plymouth, Hopkins, SLP, Robbinsdale, Roseville, et al and they almost always have one or two grade schools that are amazing (the expensive part of town, very few poor/minorites) & one or two that are just ok (where the low income kids attend). Hopkins also draws a LOT of low income African American family's from North Mpls due to their amazing basketball programs. Think of it like a magnet school for kids who play basketball. Those kids usually don't test at the same level the suburban kids do & drag down the overall test scores. At Tanglen Elementary the African American kids average a 3 of 10 on standardized test scores, while the white kids average an 8 of 10, which brings the median average to a 6 since there's far more white kids. At Hopkins High School the African American kids score an average of 3 out of 10, while the white kids score a perfect 10 of 10. If I'm a white family that's all I really need to know. My kids are going to do just fine. If I'm an African American family I'm going to be looking for a school where African American kids really excel.
Hope this helps.
Well... I am a Minority... an African American one.
Raising up as a low-income family I understand that a lot of it has to do with the parents not having enough time (working long hours for minimum wage and usually waiting on public transportation which extends the work day) to monitor the kids. Most low income students are more worried about getting home safely (crime) and what they're going to eat for the day (most low-income students has working parents that won't qualify for foodstamps so food is really scarce) to worry about school work. Once you're out of school you're on your own and the streets are so unforgiving.
Anywho....
WTBS, I don't think the higher earning African American children will have a problem excelling in school if they don't have life crashing down on them. I love the diversity of the school and it seems to be financially diverse as well. I was researching Plano, TX but it doesn't seem to be any economic diversity which I think is important.. plus, my hubby may just lay down and die of a heat stroke.
Thank you for breaking it down in detail.
Are there any other DIVERSE and SAFE areas in the Metroplex that comes to mind.
Well... I am a Minority... an African American one.
Raising up as a low-income family I understand that a lot of it has to do with the parents not having enough time (working long hours for minimum wage and usually waiting on public transportation which extends the work day) to monitor the kids. Most low income students are more worried about getting home safely (crime) and what they're going to eat for the day (most low-income students has working parents that won't qualify for foodstamps so food is really scarce) to worry about school work. Once you're out of school you're on your own and the streets are so unforgiving.
Anywho....
WTBS, I don't think the higher earning African American children will have a problem excelling in school if they don't have life crashing down on them. I love the diversity of the school and it seems to be financially diverse as well. I was researching Plano, TX but it doesn't seem to be any economic diversity which I think is important.. plus, my hubby may just lay down and die of a heat stroke.
Thank you for breaking it down in detail.
Are there any other DIVERSE and SAFE areas in the Metroplex that comes to mind.
I agree 100%! It's much more about class than it is about skin color. Poor whites have the same academic challenges as poor minorities. Single family households & living below the poverty line are the real issues, not skin color. Unfortunately a much higher % of minority's fall into one of these two groups & often times check both boxes.
I have no doubt that your children will do just fine at Hopkins & likely have the best of both worlds. Access to all the safety/amenities/education the well off, white suburban kids get & enough African American kids that they don't feel like they're alone. It's also been my experience that the African American family's from North Mpls who go to great lengths in sending their kids out to Hopkins or actually move there to be part of that district, while generally poor, are actively trying to give their kids a better opportunity in life & that matters a LOT!
I really like Hopkins btw. As a city kid, Hopkins doesn't feel like a suburb to me where everything is spread out all over the place in strip malls. It was known as "The first town West of Minneapolis" during the olden days when the train was prevalent, so it's a stand alone town close to the city as opposed to a traditional suburb. The main street is great, the schools are solid & the activities/sports are top notch.
There are areas of most 1st ring/older suburbs that will have public housing & low rent apartment complexes near the highways. I'd break Hopkins into three areas. 1) The town of Hopkins/downtown. There is a small town feel to Hopkins, with a great main street. It's classic housing stock, affordably priced, safe & extremely walkable. 2) Then you have the more expensive, more suburban feeling parts that are newer, are part of Hopkins but not in the town of Hopkins proper (that's where you're seeing the million dollar listings I'd bet? 3) Just off the highway & on the far Western end of downtown Hopkins as you enter from the East, you'll see some pretty shady looking apartment complexes. I get the feeling most people just choose not to turn up that street & instead by pass them by a couple of blocks before turning into Downtown Hopkins.
As for the schools...The ones that take these low income/minority kids will see their test scores come down. Not the way it should be, just the way it is. Look at Plymouth, Hopkins, SLP, Robbinsdale, Roseville, et al and they almost always have one or two grade schools that are amazing (the expensive part of town, very few poor/minorites) & one or two that are just ok (where the low income kids attend). Hopkins also draws a LOT of low income African American family's from North Mpls due to their amazing basketball programs. Think of it like a magnet school for kids who play basketball. Those kids usually don't test at the same level the suburban kids do & drag down the overall test scores. At Tanglen Elementary the African American kids average a 3 of 10 on standardized test scores, while the white kids average an 8 of 10, which brings the median average to a 6 since there's far more white kids. At Hopkins High School the African American kids score an average of 3 out of 10, while the white kids score a perfect 10 of 10. If I'm a white family that's all I really need to know. My kids are going to do just fine. If I'm an African American family I'm going to be looking for a school where African American kids really excel.
Hope this helps.
mason, why are blacks scoring so low on these exams? thats a huge gap between blacks and whites. me personally i was never good at standardized tests. but my grades were always a's and b's. im black and im thinking about moving to hopkins as well. i live in edina and prefer to live somewhere more affordable(3 bedroom rentals) and just more diverse(basically more african americans)
mason, why are blacks scoring so low on these exams? thats a huge gap between blacks and whites. me personally i was never good at standardized tests. but my grades were always a's and b's. im black and im thinking about moving to hopkins as well. i live in edina and prefer to live somewhere more affordable(3 bedroom rentals) and just more diverse(basically more african americans)
If I had the definitive answer to this question Obama would be naming me Director at the Dept of Education as we speak . My educated opinion is this...The two common factors in low standardized test scores seem to be 1) single parent households & 2) living below the poverty level. As I understand it, whites who check these boxes do no better at standardized tests than African Americans, it just that African Americans comprise a higher % of people checking these boxes.
Second generation Asians & Somalis (from what I understand? It's hard to find the specific data on Somalis) seem to be doing better than African Americans & I suspect it's because of a higher % of kids coming from two parent households. I don't believe it's because African Americans are bad students. I don't believe the schools are racist. I don't believe it's because most teachers are white. I believe it's just that much more difficult for a single parent to handle the responsibilities of earning a living, cleaning the house, cooking dinner, washing the clothes AND being the home tutor to their kids. Probably a lot more stress in those homes, less stability, lower self esteem, etc. Statistically, over 70% of African American students now come from single parent homes, while white students are at about 25% single parent homes & Asians even lower, in the high teens.
This may not be empirical evidence, but to me it makes more sense than anything else I've heard. What are your thoughts?
If I had the definitive answer to this question Obama would be naming me Director at the Dept of Education as we speak . My educated opinion is this...The two common factors in low standardized test scores seem to be 1) single parent households & 2) living below the poverty level. As I understand it, whites who check these boxes do no better at standardized tests than African Americans, it just that African Americans comprise a higher % of people checking these boxes.
Second generation Asians & Somalis (from what I understand? It's hard to find the specific data on Somalis) seem to be doing better than African Americans & I suspect it's because of a higher % of kids coming from two parent households. I don't believe it's because African Americans are bad students. I don't believe the schools are racist. I don't believe it's because most teachers are white. I believe it's just that much more difficult for a single parent to handle the responsibilities of earning a living, cleaning the house, cooking dinner, washing the clothes AND being the home tutor to their kids. Probably a lot more stress in those homes, less stability, lower self esteem, etc. Statistically, over 70% of African American students now come from single parent homes, while white students are at about 25% single parent homes & Asians even lower, in the high teens.
This may not be empirical evidence, but to me it makes more sense than anything else I've heard. What are your thoughts?
I think the main issue is that they're just isn't a whole lot of middle class and upper middle class black families in the Twin Cities. Honestly there just isn't a significant presence of a middle class or upper middle class of any minority here period. The achievement gap is a looming issue, especially with the percentage of minorities to double in the metro area within the next twenty years. IMO, the region needs to go all out and do more to attract more professionals and families of color from all races. Then you'll have a established base that you can build on to help close the gap. I know the leaders here acknowledge this and are working on ways to close the gap and that's great.
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