Data Notes for Higher Expectations’ 2023 Annual Report
Outcome Areas
The barplot of outcome areas uses data from the dashboard on Higher Expectations’ website. These data reflect the most recent values as of December, 2023. Post-secondary attainment and high school completion numbers come from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 5-year American Community Survey. The elementary reading, middle school math, high school completion, and post- secondary enrollment data come from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction’s WISEDash database. Kindergarten readiness data come from internal Racine Unified assessments using the Phonological Awareness Literacy Screening instrument.
Household Income
Household income data come from the 5-year American Community Survey from the U.S. Census Bureau. The visualizations are based upon data at the census tract level from several different tables. These tables report the number of people, the number of households, and the aggregate total income per racial/ethnic identity. Aggregate income is scaled to 2022 dollars using Consumer Price Index data from the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. Household income is calculated as total aggregate income divided by the number of households. Household size is the number of people divided by the number of households. Separate poverty thresholds are then calculated for each combination of year and tract. Finally, the household income relative to the poverty level is calculated as the household income divided by the poverty threshold. Poverty thresholds are based upon 2023 guidelines published by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Three worked examples follow, one for the tract with the second-worst relative income, one for the tract just above the median, and one for the tract with the second-highest.
The tract with one of the lowest income thresholds had 3,062 total residents, 1,239 households, and an aggregate income of $50,571,900. That means that an average household in that tract had 2.47 people living in it and had an annual income of about $40,817. That put the household at 1.88 times the Federal poverty level, which was $21,701 for a household of its size.
The tract that was in the middle of the income thresholds had 2.258 total residents, 1,009 households, and an aggregate income of $87,447,400. That means that an average household in that tract had 2.24 people living in it and had an annual income of $86,667. That put the household at 4.23 times the Federal poverty level, which was $20,504 for a household of its size.
The tract with one of the highest income thresholds had 3,173 total residents, 1,235 households, and an aggregate income of $170,532,500. That means that an average household in that tract had 2.57 people living in it and had an annual income of $138,083. That put the household at 6.22 times the Federal poverty level, which was $22,202 for a household of its size.
For example, the tract with one of the highest income thresholds had 3,173 total residents, 1,235 households, and an aggregate income of $170,532,500. That means that an average household in that tract had 2.57 people living in it and had an annual income of $138,083. That put the household at 6.22 times the Federal poverty level, which was $22,202 for a household of its size.
Our Outreach
As part of our commitment to continuous improvement, we piloted a program for quantifying our connections by email. Using custom-written Python scripts and the Gmail API, we counted the number of domains that each of our email threads went to this year. We then identified the organizations that each domain belongs to. Each organization was then assigned a category based upon the nature of its relationship with Higher Expectations.
Forward Results
We used publicly-available data from WISEDash as the source for our report about results on the Forward exam. The data for each year include scores from all of the district’s students. WISEDash reports four levels of attainment on the exam. Level 3 represents “Proficient.” We calculated the percentage of students who were proficient by adding together the number of students who achieved levels 3 or 4, and then dividing by the total number of students that took the exam. We performed this calculation for both 3rd grade reading results and 8th grade mathematics results.
Early Literacy
The data that we report for early literacy achievement comes from the Early Literacy Dashboard that we developed in collaboration with Racine Unified School District. Several different assessments were featured on the dashboard, including Letter Identification, Letter Sounds, Nonsense Words, and a nationally standardized reading level.
The data in our show the average score on the Nonsense Words assessment. Students who take this assessment read lists of non-words as quickly and well as they can. Non-words are things that are not real English words, but could be, like “mox,” “foo,” or “baz.” A students’ score is the number of these words that they can read in one minute.
Students took the Nonsense Words assessment from late Kindergarten through second grade. Each month, students were assessed and compared to a nationally-normed standard for students of their age and time. Our graphs show the average words read per minute among students of three different racial/ethnic identities.
Higher Expectations was able to access this data through a data-sharing agreement with Racine Unified School District.The raw data are not publicly available at this time.
HSED numbers
Data for the GROW Racine scholarship come from the City of Racine. Higher Expectations helped the city to set up its data system for tracking participants in its HSED scholarship program. Students follow the curriculum developed by YWCA Southeast Wisconsin, which involves separate units for science, communications, math, social studies, English, and life skills. Completing two units counts as a milestone, which makes a student eligible to receive part of their scholarship.
Higher Expectations was able to access this data through a data-sharing agreement with the City of Racine. The raw data are not publicly available at this time.
Credit-based recovery
The credit-based recovery program is a separate initiative from the HSED program. While the HSED program works with adults who are no longer in high school, the credit-based recovery program works with students in Racine Unified. Seniors that are identified as at risk of not graduating are offered an alternative path to graduation. They still go to school in person, but work through the YWCA’s 5.09 curriculum instead of attending classes. WISEDash does have published data that distinguishes between the 5.09 pathway and traditional one to graduation. We use internal Racine Unified data to estimate the effect of the credit-based recovery program. We identified students who were seniors at the beginning of each academic year, whether or not they were recorded as graduating, and which program they participated in. This allows us to calculate a senior graduation rate, and to compute the contribution to this rate from the credit-based recovery program.
Higher Expectations was able to access this data through a data-sharing agreement with Racine Unified School District. The raw data are not publicly available at this time.
FAFSA Completion
Higher Expectations is partnering with school districts across Racine County in order to increase the number of students who fill out Free Applications for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). To quantify the impact of these efforts, we use publicly available data on high school enrollment and FAFSA submission. WISEDash provides annual information about the number of seniors in each high school in the state of Wisconsin. The Federal Department of Education provides monthly reports of the number of complete FAFSA submissions from each high school in the country. Dividing the number of complete FAFSA submissions by the size of the senior class gives the FAFSA completion rate. This number will be lower than some other FAFSA completion numbers because it uses the full senior class size, rather than graduates or college applicants, as its denominator. However, the number is comparable across years and high schools.