Scituate+High+School+Fall+2015

Scituate High School Fall 2015

Alexa Mattiello Kiersten Gardella Scituate High School 94 Trimtown Rd, North Scituate, RI 02857 (401) 647-4120

Introduction Scituate High School, located in North Scituate, Rhode Island, is home to 46 teachers and educates approximately 467 students. Some of the core values at SHS include empowering students to reach high academic, civic, and social standards and encouraging students to gain cultural and global awareness through collaboration in the use of real world technology tools and applications. Community Background Let's first consider the town in which this school is located; Scituate, Rhode Island. We will first look at the income and poverty levels of the town compared to the state as a whole. We will then observe the basic racial demographics within the community. Finally, we will examine some basic educational information about the community. (US Census 2010)
 * Income/Poverty || Scituate || Rhode Island ||
 * Median Household Income || $78,980 || $56,361 ||
 * Median Family Income || $94,205 || $72,717 ||
 * Per Capita Income || $36,889 || $30,469 ||
 * All Families Below Poverty Level || 5.1% || 9.6% ||
 * All People Below Poverty Level || 6.0% || 13.6% ||
 * Population || 10,329 || 1,055,173 ||

In this table, we can clearly see that the town of Scituate, Rhode Island is abundantly wealthier than the average income for the state of Rhode Island. In all categories, this town exceeds all state-wide averages. For example, the median household income in Scituate is $22,619 more than the average household income for the state of Rhode Island. Based on these numbers, it is evident that Scituate exceeds Rhode Island's overall financial averages and is a fairly wealthy town.

Now let us examine the racial and ethnic demographics of this community:

(US Census 2010)
 * Race/Ethnicity || Scituate || Rhode Island ||
 * White/Caucasian || 97.9% || 81.4% ||
 * Black/African American || 0% || 6.3% ||
 * Asian || .1% || 3.1% ||
 * Hispanic/Latino || .7% || 12.9% ||
 * American Indian/Alaskan Native || .2% || .4% ||

In the table above, it is apparent that unlike the entire state of Rhode Island (81.4%), Scituate consists of a majority of white/caucasians (97.9%). Shockingly, we can also see that there is 0% Black/African Americans residing in the town of Scituate compared to the 6.3% in Rhode Island. It is pretty alarming to see a town that has 0% of a particular race. It is also surprising to note that only .7% of the entire 12.9% of the Hispanic/Latino race occupies the town of Scituate. Based on these statistics, it seems as though Scituate is not a very diverse town.

Lastly, let's take a look at some overall educational information:

(RI Kids Count 2013)
 * Education: Info taken from RI Kids Count website (2013) || Scituate || Rhode Island ||
 * Public School Enrollment (Total) || 1,419 || 141,959 ||
 * Chronic Absence in High School || 19% || 24% ||
 * Suspension Rate (Per 100 Students) || 4 || 22 ||
 * High School Graduation Rate || 91% || 81% ||
 * 11th Graders at or above Math Proficiency Level || 55% || 36% ||

As we can see, chronic absence and suspension rates in this town are much lower than that of the state as a whole. Most impressively, the high school graduation rate of Scituate High School is 10% more than the average high school graduation rate in the state of Rhode Island District Summary  We will now take a look at standardized test scores from Scituate High School. We will compare scores of the district to the statewide scores as well as scores from the towns of Barrington and Central Falls. (infoworks- NECAP Assessments 2013-14)
 * NECAP Assessments || Rhode Island || Scituate || Barrington || Central Falls ||
 * 11th Grade Math || 35% || 55% || 79% || 12% ||
 * 11th Grade Reading || 81% || 93% || 97% || 53% ||
 * 11th Grade Writing || 66% || 74% || 81% || 35% ||
 * 11th Grade Science || 30% || 34% || 68% || 14% ||

According to information from infoworks, this district exceeds the state averages in all aspects of the NECAP testing for 11th grade students. The most noticeable difference is the 20% increase form the average math score from the state compared to that of Scituate. However we can also see that the town of Barrington exceeds the state average even more by an astounding 44% for math scores. Overall we can see how impressive this district is based on their scores for the NECAPs compared to the state average scores.

Finally, let's check out some more facts about high schools in the state:

(infoworks 2013)
 * Attendance || Rhode Island || Scituate || Barrington || Central Falls ||
 * High School Attendance Rate || 92% || 93% || 95% || 88% ||
 * Chronic Absenteeism || 24% || 19% || 7% || 40% ||
 * Percent Graduated within 4 Years || 80.7% || 91.4% || 94% || 72% ||
 * Percent Dropped Out || 8% || 4.3% || 1.1% || 12.6% ||

As you can see from the table above, Scituate is fairly similar compared to Rhode Island. The attendance rate for the high school is above the state average and 5% above that of Central Falls. In addition, the percent dropped out in 2013 was only 4.3% compared to the state's 8%. This data shows that Scituate continues to surpass all percentages from the state as a whole.

School Analysis Finally, let's compare Scituate High School once more to the state and the towns of Barrington and Central Falls in terms of SAT and AP scores as well as some basic teacher characteristics.

(infoworks 2013)
 * SAT Scores || Rhode Island || Scituate || Barrington || Central Falls ||
 * Math Average || 484 || 519 || 588 || 425 ||
 * Reading Average || 483 || 518 || 578 || 394 ||
 * Writing Average || 471 || 505 || 566 || 404 ||

(infoworks 2013)
 * AP Exams || Rhode Island || Scituate || Barrington || Central Falls ||
 * Exams Taken || 7,237 || 45 || 544 || 134 ||
 * Students Taking Exams || 4,390 || 27 || 294 || 94 ||
 * Exams Scored at College-Level Mastery || 4,143 || 33 || 492 || 20 ||
 * % Scored at College-Level Mastery || 57% || 73% || 90% || 15% ||

As far as SATs, we can see that Scituate once again well exceeds the state averages for all three areas (math, writing and reading). Scituate's average score is 30 above Rhode Island for math, 35 above for reading, and 34 above for writing.

After looking over the AP Exams, we noticed that fewer students are taking AP exams in Scituate (27) as compared to Barrington (294) and Central Falls (94). However, the percentage of students scoring at College-Level Mastery is 58% greater than the percentage at Central Falls and 16% greater than the state average.

Overall, the teacher characteristics for Scituate High School are very good in comparison with the state and both Barrington and Central Falls. For example, the percent of teachers with emergency certification is 2% at Scituate. The state average is 1% and surprisingly, Barrington is 0%. In addition, the teacher-student ratio is 1:12 at Scituate whereas it is only 1:13 at Barrington. It;s very impressive that Scituate's teachers have some better characteristics than that of Barrington, which is a school with high standards, as we've seen throughout the data. Conclusion In conclusion, after looking through data and analyzing many aspects of the school, we can see that Scituate High School would qualify as one of the better schools in the state of Rhode Island. It's located in a very safe area surrounded by a great community of people. In terms of test scores, Scituate always excelled in comparison to the state average. Hopefully this analysis helps any future students and families deciding where to go to high school or what community to live in. We hope you see too just how great of a town Scituate is and how beneficial it would be for your children to attend this institution. References //Ri kids count//. (2012-2013). Retrieved from []

//United states census bureau//. (2010). Retrieved from []

Votta, P. (2013). //Info works! rhode island education data reporting//. Retrieved from []

=Tasha's and Mary's Evaluation = Madison & Emily Evaluation