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The Opportunity Gap

Is Your State Providing Equal Access to Education?

ProPublica analyzed federal education data from the 2009-2010 school year to examine whether states provide high-poverty schools equal access to advanced courses and special programs that researchers say will help them later in life. This is the first nationwide picture of exactly which courses are being taken at which schools and districts across the country. More than three-quarters of all public school children are represented. Read our story and our methodology.

From http://projects.propublica.org/schools. © Copyright 2011 Pro Publica Inc.

Find a school

Senn High School

5900 N GLENWOOD AV, CHICAGO, ILL., 60660 | Grades 9-12

Districts with 3,000 or more students
Students Total Teachers Inexp. Teachers AP Courses
This School
1,065
77
10% 8
District 369K 22,600 15% 7
State 1.36M 84,195 14% 11
 
State Average
 
District Average

Percentage of relevant students who...

Get Free/Reduced Price Lunch

44%
78%

100%
State Avg: 44% District Avg: 78%

Take at Least One AP Course

19%
22%

23%
State Avg: 19% District Avg: 22%

AP Pass Rate

67%
38%

19%
State Avg: 67% District Avg: 38%

Take Advanced Math

13%
4%

4%
State Avg: 13% District Avg: 4%

Take Chemistry

21%
24%

24%
State Avg: 21% District Avg: 24%

Take Physics

12%
7%

0%
State Avg: 12% District Avg: 7%

Are

0%
0%

0% Am Indian
State Avg: 0% District Avg: 0%
5%
4%

12% Asian
State Avg: 5% District Avg: 4%
24%
43%

38% Black
State Avg: 24% District Avg: 43%
27%
43%

43% Hispanic
State Avg: 27% District Avg: 43%
43%
10%

6% White
State Avg: 43% District Avg: 10%

Senn High School, part of the Chicago Public Schools district, is located in Chicago, Illinois. The school reports an enrollment number of 1,065 students in grades nine through 12, and it has 77 teachers on staff.

Senn High School is above both the state and district averages in terms of the percentage of its students who are eligible for free or reduced-price lunches. On average, 44 percent of students in Illinois are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, whereas 100 percent of Senn High School students are eligible. At the district level, 78 percent of students are eligible.

ProPublica's analysis found that all too often, states and schools provide poor students fewer educational programs like Advanced Placement, gifted and talented programs, and advanced math and science classes. Studies have linked participation in these programs with better outcomes later in life. Our analysis uses free and reduced-price lunch to estimate poverty at schools. We based our findings on the most comprehensive data set of access to advanced classes and special programs in U.S. public schools — known as the Civil Rights Data Set— released by the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights.

Senn High School offers eight AP courses, and 23 percent of students participate in those classes.

For AP tests, the school's pass rate is below the district average, with 19 percent of students passing some or all AP tests. Compare this to the district rate of 38 percent.

A school's AP pass rate is determined by the number of students who both sat for AP exams and passed some or all of those exams.

Senn High School has an enrollment rate of 24 percent for chemistry classes, and 4 percent of students are enrolled in advanced math.

Lake Park High School, a lower-poverty school than Senn High School, does not have any students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The school enrolls 24 percent of its students in AP classes. It is located in Roselle, Ill.

These data points were reported by schools and districts to the Office for Civil Rights. For more information about the data, see our full methodology.

— Generated by Narrative Science