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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

Galesburg High School

1135 W FREMONT ST, GALESBURG, ILL., 61401 | Grades 9-12

Districts with 3,000 or more students
Students Total Teachers Inexp. Teachers AP Courses
This School
1,320
100
10% 8
District 4,675 278 9% 8
State 1.36M 84,195 14% 11
 
State Average
 
District Average

Percentage of relevant students who...

Get Free/Reduced Price Lunch

44%
53%

46%
State Avg: 44% District Avg: 53%

Take at Least One AP Course

19%
4%

4%
State Avg: 19% District Avg: 4%

AP Pass Rate

67%
69%

69%
State Avg: 67% District Avg: 69%

Take Advanced Math

13%
6%

6%
State Avg: 13% District Avg: 6%

Take Chemistry

21%
9%

9%
State Avg: 21% District Avg: 9%

Take Physics

12%
3%

3%
State Avg: 12% District Avg: 3%

Participate in sports

49%
0.0%

38%
State Avg: 49% District Avg: 0.0%

Are

0%
0%

0% Am Indian
State Avg: 0% District Avg: 0%
5%
2%

1% Asian
State Avg: 5% District Avg: 2%
24%
19%

18% Black
State Avg: 24% District Avg: 19%
27%
8%

6% Hispanic
State Avg: 27% District Avg: 8%
43%
71%

75% White
State Avg: 43% District Avg: 71%

Galesburg High School, part of the Galesburg CUSD 205, is located in Galesburg, Illinois. The school reports an enrollment number of 1,320 students in grades nine through 12, and it has 100 teachers on staff.

Galesburg High School is above the state average but below the district average in terms of the percentage of its students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunches. On average, 44 percent of students in Illinois qualify for free or reduced-price lunch programs, whereas 46 percent of Galesburg High School students do. At the district level, 53 percent of students qualify.

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.

Galesburg High School offers eight AP courses, and 4 percent of students participate in those classes.

The school's pass rate for AP exams matches the district's, each of which is 69 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.

Galesburg High School has an enrollment rate of 6 percent for advanced math classes, and 9 percent of students take chemistry. The enrollment rate for physics at the school is 3 percent.

Chicago Vocational Career Acad High School, in Chicago, Ill., is a higher-poverty school than Galesburg High School, with 100 percent of its students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. The school offers two AP courses, and 3 percent of students are enrolled in those courses.

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