Wednesday, July 28, 2021

Insights, Made Fresh Daily

Open Enrollment

The availability of alternative educational programs across various states

David White | Wednesday, July 28, 2021

This collection of interactive maps shows where, geographically, alternative educational programs (such as vocational school, charter schools, magnet schools, etc.) are available in the United States. The underlying data was released by the U.S. Department of Education.

Tuesday, July 27, 2021

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Teaching and Learning

Student-teacher ratios vary greatly by state

David White | Tuesday, July 27, 2021

This line graph shows the student-teacher ratio of public schools in each state during the 2018–19 academic year. The underlying data was released by the U.S. Department of Education.

The graphic illustrates that there is a wide variance of average class sizes among states across the country.

Monday, July 26, 2021

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Diversity in Public Schools

The racial composition of public school student bodies in each state

David White | Monday, July 26, 2021

This bar graph shows the percentages of white and non-white public school students in each state during the 2018–19 academic year. The underlying data was released by the U.S. Department of Education.

Hawaii was the state with the highest percentage of non-white public school students with 88% non-white. Vermont was the state with the lowest percentage of non-white public school students with 10% non-white.

Sunday, July 25, 2021

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Economic Needs

48% of U.S. public school students qualify for free or reduced price lunch

David White | Sunday, July 25, 2021

This bar graph shows the rate of economic need of public schools in each state. In public school reporting, “economic need” is defined by the percentage of students who qualify to receive a free or reduced price school lunch. The U.S. national average for economic need in public schools is 48%. That figure is alarmingly high but what is more alarming is the fact that 19 states have economic need higher than 48%, the highest being Mississippi where 74% of all public school students qualify for free or reduced price lunch.

The underlying data was released by the U.S. Department of Education.

Saturday, July 24, 2021

Public School Staffing by State - Exploratory Data Analysis (EDA) by David White

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Exploratory Data Analysis

Public school data by state (part 2 of 2)

David White | Saturday, July 24, 2021

What is Exploratory Data Analysis?

Exploratory data analysis (EDA) is a technique used by data scientists to inspect, characterize and briefly summarize the contents of a dataset. EDA is often the first step when encountering a new or unfamiliar dataset. EDA helps the data scientist become acquainted with a dataset and test some basic assumptions about the data. By the end of the EDA process, some initial insights can be drawn from the dataset and a framework for further analysis or modeling is established.

This exploratory data analysis explores a dataset containing information on public schools in the United States. The underlying data was published by the United States Department of Education.

See also: Exploratory Data Analysis: Public School Demographics

Here are the takeaways from the dataset:

• The dataset contains one row for each US state plus the District of Columbia

• The dataset contains totals by state of the number of public schools in operation, total numbers of students and total for school teachers and administrators. The total number of students are roughly proportionate to the other three metrics.

• In terms of school staffing, generally speaking, the total number of students is roughly proportionate to the other three metrics

Next Steps:

Possible avenues for further research and analysis:

• There were some outliers shown in each scatterplot. It would be worth investigating why those particular states differ from the norm

• This data could be joined with metrics on student achievement to study the correlation, if any, between staffing and student achievement

• This data could be joined with metrics on income levels to study the correlation, if any, between income and student achievement

Thursday, July 22, 2021

Insights, Made Fresh Daily

Staying the Course

NYC charter high school students rarely dropped out of school

David White | Thursday, July 22, 2021

This bar graph shows the 2017–18 dropout rates of each NYC charter high school. The underlying data was released by the City of New York.

A large majority of NYC charter high schools had a dropout rate of 7.5% or less. Only six schools had a dropout rate of 10% or more.

See also: MSM-E21. NYC charter graduation rates outpace the city average

Wednesday, July 21, 2021

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Graduation Days

NYC charters graduated seniors at a higher rate than the citywide average

David White | Wednesday, July 21, 2021

This bar graph shows the 2017–18 graduation rates of each NYC charter high school. The underlying data was released by the City of New York.

In the 2017–18 academic year, the citywide graduation rate was 75.9%. A large majority of charter high schools outperformed the citywide average graduation rate.

See also: MSM-E22. Most NYC charter high schools have low dropout rates

Tuesday, July 20, 2021

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Advanced Diplomas

Most NYC charter school graduates earned standard Regents diplomas

David White | Tuesday, July 20, 2021

This bar graph shows a breakdown of the types of diplomas earned by NYC charter high school graduates in the 2017–18 academic year. The underlying data was released by the City of New York.

A large majority of NYC charter high school graduates earned standard Regents diplomas. Relatively few graduates earned local diplomas or Advanced Regents diplomas.

Monday, July 19, 2021

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Literacy vs. Income

As literacy rises, so does income

David White | Monday, July 19, 2021

This bar graph illustrates the relationship between income and literacy rates among various countries. The underlying data was released by the United Nations.

It’s clear from the data that income correlates with a country’s literacy rate. Upper-middle income countries have a 93% literacy rate. In contrast, the literacy rate in low-middle income countries is only 57%.

Sunday, July 18, 2021

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Percent Composition

The racial composition of NYC public high schools

David White | Sunday, July 18, 2021

This graphic organizer lists the racial composition of individual NYC public schools. The citywide averages and the school district averages are shown at the top in orange and green respectively. The underlying data was released by the City of New York.

Saturday, July 17, 2021

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Results May Vary

Education outcomes in NYC public high schools

David White | Saturday, July 17, 2021

This dashboard shows the education outcomes (diploma, dropped out or still enrolled) of each NYC public high school. The chart is filterable by cohort year and demographic subgroup. The underlying data was released by the City of New York.

Friday, July 16, 2021

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Home & School

Forster children face significant challenges when it comes to schooling

David White | Friday, July 16, 2021

This bar chart illustrates the one of the many difficulties affecting foster children. Within 90 days of their initial foster care placement, a large number of children had already changed schools at least once. The underlying data was released by the City of New York.

Thursday, July 15, 2021

Insights, Made Fresh Daily

David White | Thursday, July 15, 2021

Data Source: State of New York

This infographic is based on the dataset Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) Fall Headcount By College, Sector Group, and Level of Study: Beginning 2000:

I calculated the summary statistics using Python and Google Colab.

Wednesday, July 14, 2021

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Think Inside the Box

Using boxplots to reveal what’s typical and what’s an outlier

David White | Wednesday, July 14, 2021

This collection of boxplots shows the distribution of test scores on the 2019 NYS Common Core Learning Standard Exam. The underlying data was released by the New York State Education Department (NYSED).

For each “box and whisker plot” on the page, the vertical line on the left represents the lowest score. The vertical line on the right represents the highest score. The line down the center of the box represents the median score. The distance from the center line to the left end of the box represents the distance from the median to the 25th percentile score. Likewise, the distance from the center line to the right end of the box represents the distance from the median to the 75th percentile score. The dots off to either side represent outliers.

Tuesday, July 13, 2021

Insights, Made Fresh Daily

Tuition Assistance

Public education budgets as a percentage of GDP

David White | Tuesday, July 13, 2021

This interactive map shows how much each country spends on public education as a percentage of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The underlying data was released by the United Nations.

Monday, July 12, 2021

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Being Prepared

NYC's students are better prepared for college than they were four years ago

David White | Monday, July 12, 2021

This collection of slope graphs illustrates the recent trends in college readiness among NYC high school graduates in various demographic subgroups. The underlying data was released by the City of New York.

The data graphics show an upward trend in the percentage of students who are “college ready” according to The College Readiness Index:

The College Readiness Index (CRI) is calculated by the NYC Department of Education and includes students who meet CUNY’s remediation standards, which are currently defined as: (1) graduated by August with a Regents diploma, (2) earned a 75+ on the English Regents exam, or scored 480+ on the Critical Reading SAT, or scored a 20+ on the ACT English, or scored a 70+ on the CUNY Reading Assessment and a 56+ on the CUNY Writing Assessment, and (3) scored an 80+ on a Math Regents, or 70+ on a Common Core Algebra or Geometry Regents and completed coursework in Algebra II/Trigonometry or higher, or scored 480+ on the Math SAT, or scored a 20+ on the ACT Math, or scored a 40+ on the CUNY Math Assessment, or scored an 80+ on the PBAT and completed required coursework.

Source: NYC Department of Education

Saturday, July 10, 2021

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Futures in Focus

The secondary school outcomes of NYC students

David White | Saturday, July 10, 2021

This graphic organizer shows the recent graduation outcomes of students enrolled in NYC high schools. The chart is filterable and allows you to sort the data by cohort year (the year a student entered 9th grade) and demographic subgroup. The underlying data was released by the City of New York.

Friday, July 9, 2021

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Diverse Backgrounds

The demographic makeup of each NYC school district

David White | Friday, July 9, 2021

This interactive map shows the racial composition of each of New York City’s community school districts. Hover your mouse (or tap if you’re using a mobile device) to learn more about each district. The underlying data was released by the City of New York.

Thursday, July 8, 2021

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Tuition & Fees

The NYC Department of Education accounted for more spending than any other city department

David White | Thursday, July 8, 2021

This bar graph depicts the City of New York’s spending totals by department. The underlying data was released by the City of New York.

In Fiscal year 2018, the City of New York spent more than $2.5 billion on public education which was the most of any city department or agency. The next highest spending total was the Human Resources Administration with a total yearly budget of $990 million.

Wednesday, July 7, 2021

Insights, Made Fresh Daily

Out of Proportion

Charter schools dominate the conversation, but not the enrollment numbers

David White | Wednesday, July 7, 2021

This 100% bar graph shows the proportion of U.S. students that are enrolled in charter schools vs. how many are enrolled in traditional public schools. The underlying data was released by the U.S. Department of Education.

Despite their prominence in the national conversation and some very high-profile advocates (and detractors), charter schools account for only 6.5% of all public school students in the United States.