Abstract
Improving California’s schools is a top priority of voters and policymakers alike. Evaluating students, schools, and teachers, through standardized testing, while controversial, has become central to modern state and federal education policies. Context is critical in evaluating these scores. A vast array of literature shows that students with less educated, poorer parents present a far greater challenge to teachers and their schools. An emerging body of literature points to the importance of the surrounding community to school performance as well. This thesis uses regression analysis to determine what community factors have a significant impact on school performance. I found that community poverty is the most significant driver for API test scores in California’s elementary schools, more even than the poverty of the students themselves. The educational achievement of the community also plays a significant role in the success of their local schools. Overcoming the impact of poverty on schools lies at the heart of improving the performance of low performing schools. Policies that attack the problem head-on, either by lowering poverty levels or by giving more challenging schools the resources to provide their students the extra support they need, could likely succeed, but they would be extremely costly and are likely politically unpalatable. The importance of community factors suggests that the entire community can play a role in improving school performance. Community groups, churches, and local government can play a significant role in overcoming the effects of poverty, especially in the areas of health care and healthy living, stable and safe housing, and in providing positive role models for children. Perhaps the most important lesson is that the critics of America’s schools are badly missing the mark. After accounting for poverty, American school test scores are among the best in the world. The overall scores fall short because America has a much higher high poverty rate than other affluent nations. With 21.6% of America’s children living in poverty, schools are not failing children, our society is.