Portsmouth+High+School+Fall+2015

= Portsmouth High School = = Context Statement = [| Edit] 0[| 48][|…] = Reed Grabowski & Andrew Morin =



= = = Introduction =

The school that we analyzed for this project was Portsmouth High School, in the Portsmouth school district. For this project we focused on obtaining as much information as we could on the benefits this school had to offer to the parents of perspective students. Portsmouth High school is a public high school located in the city of Portsmouth and has a student body of over 950 students in grades nine through twelve. This school offers 100 professional staff members that assist students in academics, athletics, and many other fields. The student body at this high school predominantly come from the city of Portsmouth, and the town of Little Compton. This high school is located at 120 Education Ln, Portsmouth, RI 02871 and can be contacted at (401) 683-2124. The goal of Portsmouth High School is best summarized in their mission statement which is, “To engage all students in rigorous learning opportunities supported by a high quality and challenging curriculum and superior teaching to prepare them to thrive in an ever changing world.”

==

** Community Background **

When analyzing a school it is helpful to first research the community from which the student body is from. In our case students of Portsmouth High School. We did this by researching demographic information from the Rhode Island census fact finder and Ri Kids Count websites which gave us a more in depth view of who these students actually were. We found this by analyzing things such as student’s race, family income, and home life. We also compared these demographic factors of Portsmouth High school community to the state of Rhode Island and the United States to get a sense of how Portsmouth compared to the rest of the state.



Portsmouth is a community composed mostly of white residents. With 94.7 percent of Portsmouth population being white/Caucasian, compared to 81.4 percent for Rhode Island as a state and 74 percent of the population national. As you can see the community of white/caucasian residents in Portsmouth is higher than the rest of Rhode Island and the United States. Portsmouth is not only comprised of a large white/caucasian population but of a large child population as well; as you can see in the chart bellow. Portsmouth's child population, (residents under the age of 18), is 3,996 children compared to the state of Rhode Island which has a total population of 223,956 children. based on these table and chart below you can see that Portsmouth is predominantly made up of white/Caucasian families.



http://www.discovernewport.org/images/content-pages/headers/portsmouth-rhode-island.jpg (discovernewport.org)
 * ~ (info from kids count unless specified) ||
 * || Portsmouth || Rhode Island ||
 * Number of Family households (census.gov) || 69.4% || 62.8% ||
 * Child population || 3,996 || 223,956 ||
 * Children in single-parent Families || 18% || 31% ||

As you can see from the graphs below, students who attend Portsmouth High School generally come from a more affluent background compared to the rest of Rhode Island and the country. The average Median household income, median family income, and per capita income of people from Portsmouth are higher than the averages for Rhode Island and the US. The average level of families and individuals who live below the poverty line is also lower in Portsmouth than the State and National levels. The unemployment rate in Portsmouth is also lower than State and the National average. To conclude it is clear that Portsmouth, compared to the state of Rhode Island and the US, are primarily wealthy. This suggests that most students that attend Portsmouth High School come from financially stable families.


 * ~ info from kids count  ||~   ||~   ||
 * Education || Portsmouth || Rhode Island ||
 * Public school enrollment (total) || 2,563 || 141,959 ||
 * Public school enrollment (% low-income) || 15% || 47% ||




 * ~ info from kids count  ||~   ||~   ||
 * Economic Well Being || Portsmouth || Rhode Island ||
 * children living in families below the federal poverty threshold (09-13) || 7.4% || 19.5% ||
 * children in families receiving cash assistance || 1% || 4% ||
 * number of children receiving snap benefits || 253 || 60,982 ||



= District Summary =

When analyzing the Portsmouth school district we looked at the NECAP test scores along with a couple other district characteristics. We compared Portsmouth high school with the high schools of both the Barrington and Central Falls school districts. We chose to compare the Portsmouth school district with these other two school districts because of their reputations. The Barrington school district had a reputation for being very well-funded and in the past its students test scores consistently ranked among the top for the state of Rhode Island. Where as the Central Falls school district had a reputation for being on the other end of that spectrum; and in the past its students scores consistently ranked among the lowest in the state. We also compared the NECAP test scores of the Portsmouth high school students to the state average for the eleventh grade. The average Math score on the NECAP exam for Rhode Island as a whole was 35 percent, for Portsmouth high school it was 62 percent, for Barrington high School it was 79 percent, and for Central Falls high school it was 12 percent. According to these statistics it is clear that Portsmouth high school scores among the top high schools in the state alongside Barrington on exams. These scores were far better than the state average for Rhode Island as a whole and the scores received from Central Falls. The success these students of Portsmouth high school received on the NECAP assessment, this could be attributed to Portsmouth High School’s well-funded programs and classes.




 * NECAP Assessments || Rhode Island || Portsmouth || Barrington || Central Falls ||
 * 11th Grade Math || 35% || 62% || 79% || 12% ||
 * 11th Grade Reading || 81% || 93% || 97% || 53 % ||
 * 11th Grade Writing || 66% || 80% || 81% || 35% ||
 * 11th Grade Science || 30% || 58% || 68% || 14% ||



Another characteristic of the school that we used to analyze the Portsmouth school district was the number of student’s who were eligible to receive subsidized school lunch. We compared our district to the districts of Barrington, Central Falls, and the state of Rhode Island. We found that throughout the state of Rhode Island 47 percent of children were eligible to receive subsidized lunches from their schools. In Portsmouth, 15 percent of students were eligible, in the district of Barrington only 4 percent were eligible, and in Central Falls district 79 percent of kids were eligible to receive subsidized lunches from the schools. Like the NECAP Assessment scores, the percent of students within the district who were eligible to receive subsidized school lunches between the two districts of Barrington and Portsmouth were very similar. Despite the state average of 47 percent being comparatively high for these two districts it still was about 30 percent lower than the percentage of kids were eligible to receive these lunches in Central Falls. The percentage of students eligible for subsidized lunch in the Portsmouth schools reflects the financial stability of those living within the Portsmouth school district.



School Analysis
SAT and AP exam scores can be a good indicator on how well schools are preparing their students for higher education. For this analysis, we compared the average test scores at Portsmouth High School and how they performed on Standardized test (such as the SAT an AP exams) with the average scores received on these test by students who went to Barrington and Central Falls as well as comparing these scores to the state average. The average SAT exam score for the state was 1438, Students who went to Portsmouth High School averaged 1584, Barrington High School students averaged 1732, and the average SAT exam score received by Central Falls High School students was 1223.


 * SAT Exams || Rhode Island || Portsmouth || Barrington || Central Falls ||
 * Math Average || 484 || 542 || 588 || 425 ||
 * Reading Average || 483 || 537 || 578 || 394 ||
 * Writing Average || 471 || 505 || 566 || 404 ||

(opt-ri.com) http://opt-ri.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Porstmouth-Logo1.png

College-Level Mastery || 4143 || 364 || 492 || 20 || Level Mastery || 57% || 76% || 90% || 15% ||
 * ~  ||~   ||~ infoworks ||~   ||~   ||
 * AP Exams || Rhode Island || Portsmouth || Barrington || Central Falls ||
 * Exams Taken || 7237 || 478 || 544 || 134 ||
 * Students Who Took Exams || 4390 || 257 || 294 || 94 ||
 * Exams Scored at
 * % Scored at College-

As far as AP exam scores go, the data is somewhat consistent with the trend set previously. The percentage of students who scored at a college mastery level for the state of Rhode Island was 57 percent, for Portsmouth High School 76 percent, 90 percent for Barrington High School, and 15 percent for Central Falls High School. What can be told from looking at these numbers is that students who go to Portsmouth and Barrington high schools on average test far better than the rest of the state and Central Falls. What is a possible reason that this could be occurring? To explore a possible reason we analyzed a few factors between each of the schools such as: Teacher qualification and teacher-student ratio, attendance and graduation rate. However these all could be factors that can effect students standardized test scores, we felt that insufficient teaching had the largest effect. Teachers are essential in providing students with the resources they need and help students achieve their overall potential. The state percentage of classes taught by unqualified teachers was 1 percent, for Portsmouth it was 0 percent, for Barrington it was 0 percent, and for Central Falls it was 4 percent.


 * ~  ||~ Qualification and Teacher-Student Ratio ||~ info works ||~   ||~   ||
 * Qualifications and Teacher-Student Ratio || Rhode Island || Portsmouth || Barrington || Central Falls ||
 * Teachers with Emergency Certification || 1% || 0% || 0% || 4% ||
 * Teacher-Student Ratio (classroom teachers) || 1:14 || 1:12 || 1:13 || 1:4 ||
 * Students Receiving ESL/Bilingual Education Services || 0% || 7% || 14% || 24% ||
 * Students Receiving Special Education Services || 15% || 15% || 12% || 21% ||

Conclusion
As you have seen from the data above, Portsmouth High School does excel academically and preforms up there with some of the most prestigious public high schools in the state of Rhode Island. However high school isn't just about test scores and and maintaining a well-rounded student body, it should be a place that helps nurture its young learners into the best students and the young adults they can be. Portsmouth High School prides itself in its creating well rounded students who not only succeeded in the classroom but for the years to come. The community has a lot to offer as well. Portsmouth is not only one of the most financially stable communities in Rhode Island but in the country. Hopefully this objective assessment will serve as a helpful guide to you and anyone else considering Portsmouth High School as an option for their current or soon to be high school students.

= References =
 * http://infoworks.ride.ri.gov/
 * http://factfinder.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/index.xhtml
 * http://rikidscount.org

//Jillian and Hadley evaluation //