ProPublica Analysis Shows Haves and Have-Nots Among Washtenaw County School Districts

The State of Michigan is about average when it comes to providing equal-opportunity education to students, whether they learn in rich or poor districts.

A study of federal data by ProPublica, an investigative journalism organization, measures the “haves and have-not" schools in areas such as AP offerings and experienced teachers. is clearly portrayed as a district providing rich opportunities for its students.

These are just some of the findings in a ProPublica study which used data from the U.S. Department of Education of Civil Rights and other federal sources to ask if states are providing rich and poor communities equal access to education.

The Opportunity Gap was published Thursday on ProPublica’s website. ProPublica found that, in some states, high-poverty schools are less likely than wealthier schools to have students enrolled in AP classes, which, according to ProPublica, have been shown to help students get to and succeed in college.

ProPublica’s findings appear to be true of Washtenaw County.

ProPublica’s interactive data shows five percent of Saline High School students using the free or reduced lunch program, far less than the state average of 38 percent. Conversely, 30 percent of Saline High School students take at least one AP course, nearly double the state average of 17 percent. The study states five percent of Saline High School’s teachers are “inexperienced,” which is in line with the state average.

The website allows readers to compare Saline with other schools and districts. When prompted to compare Saline High School with nearby districts, the site pulls up data from Dexter, Pioneer, Huron, Ypsilanti and Lincoln high schools. Saline tops all of those schools in the number of AP classes offered and is second behind Pioneer in the percentage of students taking at least one AP class (36-30 percent). Of those schools, Saline has the lowest percentage of students using free and reduced lunch programs (five percent). Ypsilanti, with 59 percent of students using the free and reduced lunch programs, has 10 percent of students enrolled in one of the six AP classes offered by the school.

Another ProPublica article examines how Florida is closing the opportunity gap and providing high poverty districts with many of the same classes enjoyed by richer districts.