Why We Do Our Work

All students—regardless of their socio-economic background or place of residence—deserve access to a truly excellent education. Students must develop a core set of academic skills and analytical abilities in order to be successful and active participants in a democratic society. Unfortunately, there are insufficient educational opportunities in Rhode Island to prepare substantial numbers of the state’s students for success in college and in life.

Recent student performance data indicate student test scores in Rhode Island, especially for economically disadvantaged students, have stagnated at unacceptably low levels despite steadily increased spending on local public schools. In addition, the state continues to suffer from a significant, income-based achievement gap that threatens to undermine the life chances of far too many of Rhode Island’s young people. As a result, Rhode Island consistently falls below the national average and even further below its immediate neighbors, Connecticut and Massachusetts, on national tests. In 2008, Education Week ranked the Ocean State 10th to last in K-12 achievement, assigning a grade of “D.” On the 2007 National Assessment of Academic Progress (NAEP), also known as the nation’s report card, Rhode Island’s fourth and eighth graders performed worse than their peers nationally and in neighboring states in both reading and math.

Larger economic challenges also weaken the state’s outlook. High local property tax rates, for example, make it difficult for many Rhode Island communities to attract both residents and businesses, which adversely impacts schools. At first glance, Rhode Island appears to enjoy many economic and educational blessings. Over two thirds of the state's children, live in families earning middle class incomes*, which is above the national average. Over 54 percent of adults earn more than the national median income and 48 percent of children have a parent with a post-secondary degree, versus 43% nationally. Based on these and other advantages, the magazine Education Week also recently ranked Rhode Island 20th nationally on its measure of the “chance for success” its children enjoy..

Yet, despite these and other advantages, Rhode Island consistently falls below the national average on national tests.

Meeting the academic needs of urban and suburban youth

Academic underperformance exists throughout Rhode Island: in its urban centers, but also in its suburbs and small towns. Approximately 38 percent of the state's 56,000 low income students attend non-urban schools. Though economically disadvantaged students outside of urban schools perform above their peers in urban schools, far too many still fall short of the state’s standards. In addition, there remains a substantial gap between advantaged and disadvantaged students in non-urban school districts. Even among middle-class white students across the state, only 51 percent of 11th graders score proficient on the state’s standardized math test. Three quarters of all eighth grade students in the entire state of Rhode Island are not proficient in either reading or math. In practical terms, this means that literally 75 percent of Rhode Islanders enter high school unable to do grade-level work in core content subjects. It is therefore, not surprising that nearly half of high school students in Rhode Island drop out before graduation. The achievement gap is profound, especially when considering the fact that even for those students with the most socio-economic advantages, nearly half are unable to complete high school with proficient basic skills. By addressing the needs of suburban and urban youth of varying socio-economic backgrounds, mayoral academies joins students and communities together through excellence, thus enacting a 21st century integration model.

*According to the US census