The Community Advisory Committee on Student Assignment has published their recommendations on reforming the student assignment process at SFUSD. Below I have reprinted the Executive Summary of the report. The full report can be
(.4MB PDF).
SFUSD has been a party to a desegregation Consent Decree since 1983. The Board of Education has adopted and the Federal Court has approved a student assignment plan to serve the goals of that Consent Decree, including racially and ethnically diverse school enrollments, and educational equity and improved student achievement. This student assignment system is based on program placement, outreach and recruitment, and a race-neutral lottery process. SFUSD’s obligations under the Consent Decree, including the duty to use a Court-approved student assignment plan, are scheduled to end during the 2005-06 school year.
Several concerns have been raised by community members and District stakeholders regarding the current student assignment process. One concern is that both the number of schools with high concentrations of a single racial or ethnic group and the magnitude of such concentrations have increased since 1999. Additionally, numerous families have complained that the current system does not allow their children to attend schools close to their homes. Finally, many families have also voiced frustration at aspects of the current system that they find confusing, particularly the use of the Diversity Index.
In December, 2003 Superintendent Ackerman proposed to the Board of Education the creation of "a broad-based committee — made up of diverse members of the San Francisco community who represent its various interests — to study and to make recommendations regarding the student assignment process in the District." The proposal was adopted by the Board in March 2004.
The Community Advisory Committee on Student Assignment was charged with:
- Reviewing and studying the current student assignment process used by the District and student assignment processes used by other school districts to provide students with the opportunity to attend schools with diverse enrollments and to facilitate improved student achievement;
- Holding focus groups to hear what the San Francisco community thinks about the current student assignment process;
- Consulting with District staff, community, representatives, and any appropriate experts;
- Considering any relevant policies and plans, including the Consent Decree, Excellence for All, and the Facilities Master Plan; and
- Recommending three student-assignment options for the 2006-2007 school year as well suggestions with respect to any incremental changes needed during the interim.
The Committee held meetings beginning in April 2004 and concluding in January 2005. Its first meetings were focused on establishing ground rules and guiding principles and gathering data relevant to the District’s student assignment policies. In September and October, the Committee focused on planning for, conducting and debriefing the first series of community meetings. Each of these meetings primarily featured a series of interactive questions, using hand-held devices through which community participants provided instant feedback. Shortly after these meetings, the Committee progressed to developing and evaluating options and identifying recommendations.
The Committee decided to distinguish between two groups of recommendations. The first set of recommendations comprises three mutually exclusive approaches to allocating seats to oversubscribed schools. The second set includes "cross-cutting" recommendations that could be applicable to any method of allocating oversubscribed seats.
In developing the first set of recommendations, Committee members proposed, discussed, and revised numerous options and reviewed simulations, prepared by District staff using actual enrollment requests for School Year 2004-05 assignment outcomes that would have resulted under six different options. The Committee agreed to recommend three options for assigning seats to schools in cases in which requests for seats outnumber available seats. These options primarily vary with respect to the following issues:
- Preference, if any, provided on the basis of the geographic relationship between an applicant’s residence and the location of the requested school; and
- When and whether a random lottery and/or index of factors linked to academic achievement is used to determine assignments.
The simulations indicated that more families would receive assignments to requested schools under all three options recommended by the Committee than they would under the current system, as indicated in the table below.
Simulation Results: Percent of Applicants Receiving Requested Schools| Outcome | Current System | Option 1 | Option 2 | Option 3 |
|---|
| Received 1st Choice | 58% | 59% | 60% | 60% |
| Received Any Choice | 78% | 84% | 84% | 84% |
| Received No Choice | 21% | 16% | 16% | 16% |
The simulations indicated that more students would receive assignments to their attendance area schools in Option 1 and Option 2 than under the current system, but slightly fewer students would receive assignments to their attendance area schools using Option 3. These results are summarized in the table below.
Simulation Results: Percent of Applicants Receiving Attendance Area Schools vs. Other Schools| Outcome | Current System | Option 1 | Option 2 | Option 3 |
|---|
| Requested and received student’s own Attendance Area school | 29% | 32% | 33% | 28% |
| Requested and received any other school | 50% | 53% | 51% | 56% |
| Received no choice | 21% | 16% | 16% | 16% |
The simulations suggested that the number of schools with high racial concentrations would be slightly increased under Options 1 and 3 and slightly reduced under Option 2, as indicated in the following table.
Simulation Results: Number of Schools with > 45% of Assignments to a Single Racial / Ethnic Group| Current System | Option 1 | Option 2 | Option 3 |
|---|
| 42 | 45 | 40 | 48 |
In all three options, the Committee recommends that the District continue to offer placement priorities to students on the basis of sibling status and programmatic needs of certain special education and English Learner students.
Option 1 — For every school with an attendance area (also see "Attendance Areas" below), this option would reserve 50% of available seats for students residing within the attendance area and 50% for students outside of the attendance area. Attendance area students would be selected by pure random lottery, while an index of factors linked to academic achievement (also see discussion of "Diversity Index" below) would be used to assign seats to non-attendance area students.
Option 2 — For every school with an attendance area (also see "Attendance Areas" below), this option would reserve sixty percent (60%) of available seats for students residing within the attendance area and forty percent (40%) for students outside of the attendance area. Students in both groups would be selected by pure random lottery for the respective sets of seats. With the exception of program placements and pre-assignments, no other factors would be used to assign seats.
Option 3 — Under this option, all offers to all schools would be determined through a random lottery. No attendance areas would exist, and no preference would be provided to any applicant to any school based on geographic residence, any characteristic linked to academic achievement, or any other factor. The District would work with individual schools in outreach and program development to provide information to prospective families and achieve diverse school enrollments.
In addition to the three options outlined above, the Committee offers additional recommendations that could accompany any of the three options, or variations thereof. These include the following:
Attendance Areas — The Committee believes that the District’s attendance areas are out-of-date and urges the District to reexamine and revise them.
Program Placement — The Committee recommends that the District provide one or more ways in which the San Francisco community can provide input into program placement decisions.
Dream Schools — The Committee supports the District’s attempt to improve underperforming schools through the Dream Schools. In establishing additional Dream Schools, the Committee encourages the District to promote diversity, expand outreach to all potential families, and align promotion policies across grade spans with assignment policies for other schools.
Teacher and Staff Quality — The Committee encourages the District to maintain high standards in the evaluation of teachers and principals. Also, exceptional teachers and school administrators who perform above and beyond the typical expectations of their roles should be recognized and rewarded.
School Safety — The Committee recommends that the District constantly place a high priority on efforts to maintain and improve the security and climate of all schools, particularly schools that families may currently avoid due to concerns related to safety.
Sharing Effective Practices Across Schools — The Committee recommends that the District actively foster sharing of knowledge regarding effective practices across schools. A variety of school community members should be involved in this exchange of knowledge, including the principal, teachers, parents, and students.
Outreach and Recruitment — The Committee recommends that the District, in partnership with community organizations, continue to inform the public about high-quality school options.
Student Assignment Interventions for Under-Requested and/or Underperforming Schools — Building on efforts including the STAR schools intervention program for underperforming schools, the Committee recommends that the District develop targeted interventions for under- requested or under-enrolled schools beginning with academic intervention and support and community input and progressing to steps such as not permitting additional students to enroll or school closure.
Assistance for Schools with High Racial / Ethnic Concentrations — The Committee recommends that the District work with schools to identify ways to achieve greater racial diversity, particularly through outreach and program development, in cases in which more than 50% of students represent a single racial / ethnic group. The District should also examine practices across schools to work with students in small racial / ethnic minorities within their schools.
Transportation — The Committee recommends that the District modify its transportation services so they are aligned with the student assignment policies that are ultimately approved by the Board. The Committee also recommends that, to the greatest extent possible, the District offer transportation for students who do not receive assignments to requested schools.
Modification of Capacity — The Committee supports the idea of modifying school enrollment capacities to better satisfy parent demand as well as to promote greater diversity, as long as such modifications are fiscally responsible.
Designated Assignments — For students who do not receive assignments to requested schools, the Committee recommends that the District continue to consider the student’s home address and SFUSD’s available transportation routes when selecting a school placement. When possible, the District should continue to offer assignments within one mile of elementary students’ homes and within two miles of middle school students’ homes if requested by parents / guardians.
The Committee also discussed several other important issues, but did not reach consensus on specific recommendations. These included the following questions:
- Should race be a factor in determining assignments to schools?
- Should the Diversity Index be maintained, modified, or eliminated?
- Should schools be grouped into geographic clusters with students receiving preference to attend schools within their respective cluster?
- Should children of teachers and staff be given priority in the student assignment process?
The members of the Committee hope the recommendations and observations outlined in this report will help advance the community-wide conversation that must be held regarding school options for San Francisco’s families. The Committee does not view these recommendations as a menu of options within which the Superintendent, Board of Education, or community should limit their thinking. Instead, this report is submitted with the goal of generating additional dialogue and ideas. As the District moves forward in its deliberations regarding student assignment, the Committee is prepared to reconvene and provide additional advice or otherwise assist as requested in this extremely important discussion.
