Questioning Logic of School “White Flight” to ‘Burbs, Decatur Comes Out On Top in SAT (Atlanta: school district)

[americancoffee]

From DecaturMetro.com:

The AJC’s Maureen Downey – a Decatur resident – recently posted an extensive analysis by a reader that showed white students ITP actually posted better SAT scores than their white counterparts in the ‘burbs the last two years. Both Maureen and the reader states that the analysis was done in reaction to numerous comments on the “Get Schooled” blog that…

“Many suburbanites on this blog contend that they would never send their children to city of Atlanta or DeKalb schools and that’s why they now live in Forsyth or Cobb.”

The reader admits that the SAT analysis is not exhaustive. They didn’t check the scores of every school district in the state. However, they did go through all the urban and suburban districts around Atlanta. (Also note that Downey states later on in a comment, that the AJC did vet the info before posting)
Here’s what “the reader” found:

In 2008-09 (the most recent data included at the state website), the Georgia system with the highest average SAT scores (math and verbal) for its white students appears to be Decatur City (1203); second is Atlanta City (1165); third is Marietta City (1150); and fourth is DeKalb County (1145).
For 2007-08, the top four appear to have been (1) Atlanta (1174); (2) Decatur (1166); (3) DeKalb (1136); and (4) Fulton County (1108). The statewide SAT average for all white students was 1042 in 2008-09 and 1040 in 2007-08
I know from prior discussions with many white parents (especially those whose children do not attend APS schools) that these results will strike some as unbelievable — that white students in Atlanta, Decatur and DeKalb public schools perform better on SATs than white students in Fulton, Cobb, Gwinnett, Cherokee, Fayette, Forsyth and possibly (probably?) every other system in the state of Georgia!

[Mattie]

It only works if you average by county. The school my kids went to in North Fulton has a much higher average than Decatur.
Top 25 Georgia high schools by average SAT scores *| ajc.com

Suddenly Decatur doesn't look so impressive.

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by Mattie

It only works if you average by county. The school my kids went to in North Fulton has a much higher average than Decatur.
Top 25 Georgia high schools by average SAT scores *| ajc.com

Suddenly Decatur doesn't look so impressive.

I think may be comparing apples and oranges. The numbers in the AJC post are correct.

Here's what the GA DOE shows as the average SATs last year:

Decatur (Decatur City): 1203
Grady (City of Atlanta) : 1161
North Atlanta (City of Atlanta): 1191
Chattahoochee (Fulton County) : 1139
Northview (Fulton County): 1141


One difference, of course, is the number of students tested. The number of white kids tested at these schools was:

Decatur: 66
North Atlanta: 20
Grady: 57
Chattahoochee: 238
Northview: 286

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by Mattie

It only works if you average by county. The school my kids went to in North Fulton has a much higher average than Decatur.
Top 25 Georgia high schools by average SAT scores *| ajc.com

Suddenly Decatur doesn't look so impressive.

You have to read the full article above. The point of the article was comparing white students to white students at each of the schools. This is where Decatur, Grady, etc. came out on top.


And for the record y'all, the analysis only included the Critical Reading and Math portions of the test (not the Writing). So, look at scores out of 1600 instead of 2400.

[ecuresident]

Originally Posted by aries4118

You have to read the full article above. The point of the article was comparing white students to white students at each of the schools. This is where Decatur, Grady, etc. came out on top.


And for the record y'all, the analysis only included the Critical Reading and Math portions of the test (not the Writing). So, look at scores out of 1600 instead of 2400.

Yes but it isnt equal/standardized is what the other poster is saying. How can you compare Walton which has 400 white students taking the test to N Atlanta that only has 20 students taking the test. Obviously the more people you have the more variation you are going to have. What you would have to do is take the 20 white students from North Atlanta, against 20 from Walton (assuming their GPA's are relatively close) and then compare SAT scores.

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by ecuresident

Yes but it isnt equal/standardized is what the other poster is saying. How can you compare Walton which has 400 white students taking the test to N Atlanta that only has 20 students taking the test. Obviously the more people you have the more variation you are going to have. What you would have to do is take the 20 white students from North Atlanta, against 20 from Walton (assuming their GPA's are relatively close) and then compare SAT scores.

I see your point.

But really, the bigger issue is that suburban schools may or may not give a better education than urban schools--and urban schools may or may not actually give a better education.

Or even better--these kids will get a good, quality education at most schools...whether urban or suburban, etc.