Suburban Science Education
Keith Sheppard
Angela Kelly
Luisa McHugh
United States
Suburban Science Education
Data Sources:
•American Census Bureau (2010)
•New York State School Report Cards (2008-2010)
•National Center for Educational Statistics
•NYSED.gov
Suburban Science Education
What percentages of the USA population are
•Suburban
•Urban
•Rural ?
Suburban Science Education
What percentages of the USA Population are
•Suburban 50%
•Urban 30%
•Rural 20%
“…the United States is a suburban nation…”
Suburban Science Education
Google Scholar Search
•Suburban Science Education
•Urban Science Education
•Rural Science Education
Suburban Science Education
Google Scholar Search
•Suburban Science Education 1
•Urban Science Education
727
•Rural Science Education
87
Suburban Science Education
Suburban Science Education
Science for All?
Contains Chapters on
• Rural Science Education
• Urban Science Education
Suburban Science Education
and High-Needs Schools
Survey of Noyce Awards
Choices for Areas Served
• Rural
• Urban
Suburban Science Education
and High-Needs Schools
Noyce Award Question
• Are these truly high needs
school districts? They do
not mention that fact in
their support letters.
Answer
• Yes. All are high needs
school districts.
• It is a misconception to
suppose that suburban
schools are all low needs.
New York State
New York State
• Demographics
– Population 19.4 million (3rd largest in USA)
(60% White, 17% Black, 7% Asian and 17% Hispanic)
– New York City (largest city in USA)
– 8.1 million (42% of population)
– New York City Metropolitan area (largest suburbs in USA)
– 18.9 million
New York State Education
• Demographics
– K-12 Population 2.7 million
– 50% White, 19% Black, 22% Hispanic, 8% Asian
• New York City
• K-12 Population 1.1 million
• 15% White, 34% Black, 13% Asian and 38% Hispanic
New York State
• Distinguishing Feature of NY Education?
New York State
• Distinguishing Feature of NY Science Education?
– Regents Exams
– Earth Science
– Over 800 school districts
New York State School Districts
New York State Science Education
New York City
High needs by definition, but STEM accessibility and
participation is contextual and related to poverty of local school
population (Kelly & Sheppard, 2009).
55% of New York City secondary schools do not offer physics
Main determinant of whether physics is offered = school size
Physics Offering in NYC by Borough
A disproportionate number of the physics
students in NYC attend the eight magnet
schools.
7%


Magnet schools have 7% of
the city’s high school students,
and 27% of the city’s physics
students.
These competitive schools
have far fewer students of
color and fewer poor children
than other NYC schools.
93%
Magnet
Non Selective
27%
73%
Magnet
Non Selective
Long Island
Long Island History
• 19th Century – century of the Cities
• 20th Century – century of the Suburbs
•
•
•
•
1898 – consolidation of New York City
Queens elected to be part of the city
Nassau elected to be separate
Suburban government developed
Long Island History
Year
Nassau
Suffolk
1900
55,000
78,000
1920
126,000
110,000
1940
406,000
197,000
1960
1,300,000
667,000
Largest School Districts
District
State
Enrollment
New York City
NY
999,150
Los Angeles Unified
CA
707,627
City of Chicago
IL
413,694
Dade
FL
353,790
Clark County
NV
303,448
Broward
FL
262,813
Houston ISD
TX
202,936
Hillsborough
FL
193,517
Hawaii
HI
180,728
Largest School Districts
District
State
Enrollment
New York City
NY
999,150
Los Angeles Unified
CA
707,627
City of Chicago
IL
413,694
Dade
FL
353,790
Clark County
NV
303,448
Suffolk County
NY
264,000
Broward
FL
262,813
Nassau County
NY
211,000
Houston ISD
TX
202,936
Hillsborough
FL
193,517
Hawaii
HI
180,728
Largest School Districts
District
State
Enrollment
New York City
NY
999,150
Los Angeles Unified
CA
707,627
Long Island
NY
475,000
City of Chicago
IL
413,694
Dade
FL
353,790
Clark County
NV
303,448
Broward
FL
262,813
Houston ISD
TX
202,936
Hillsborough
FL
193,517
Hawaii
HI
180,728
Largest School Districts
District
State
‘Geographical Long Island’ NY
Enrollment
1,026,000
Los Angeles Unified
CA
707,627
New York City
NY
449,000
City of Chicago
IL
413,694
Dade
FL
353,790
Clark County
NV
303,448
Broward
FL
262,813
Houston ISD
TX
202,936
Hillsborough
FL
193,517
Hawaii
HI
180,728
Long Island
• Distinguishing Feature of Long Island Education?
Long Island
Long Island Science Education
•
•
•
•
•
•
125 separate school districts
De facto segregation
Wide disparity between districts
Intel semi-finalists and finalists
High AP exam entrance
Highly paid teachers
Long Island Racial Imbalance
Lowest and Highest Performing Districts on Long Island
All these districts are within 20 miles of each other
High Needs?
Who takes what?
Talking Points
• High needs schools and suburban locations
are not mutually exclusive categories
• % taking Regents physics and chemistry is an
effective indicator of the of whether a school
is high- needs.
• School size not a determinant of science
offerings on Long Island
• Teachers are important
Acknowledgements
• We would like to thank Linda Padwa for the
collection and organization of the Long Island
Regents data.
• We would like to thank Judy Nimmo for
assistance in constructing the maps in this
powerpoint.