Tulsa-area students are doing better at third-grade reading and at continuing their education after high school.
A new report from Impact Tulsa shows from 2015 to 2016, Hispanic third-graders gained about a quarter school year in reading proficiency and low-income students nearly three weeks. Meanwhile, postsecondary enrollment climbed from 63 percent among 2013 grads to 67 percent among 2014 grads, with nonwhite student enrollment going from 56 to 65 percent.
Econorthwest President John Tapogna helped Impact Tulsa analyze data from its 15 partner school districts. Tapogna said those gains were made in the context of a recession.
"So, one would hope that as the economy begins to recover — hopefully, you have some improving budgets at some point — that you see even stronger gains," Tapogna said.
The average 2016 third-grader was very close to reading proficiency. Broken down, however, black students were more than a year behind white students, and low-income students significantly behind those not low income. Tapogna said 3,000 more kids should be enrolled in pre-K programs.
"Achievement gaps are largely created before the kid shows up at kindergarten, and so if you're going to be serious about reducing achievement gaps, you're going to have to do work in the 0- to 5-years-old space," Tapogna said.
Though reading gaps persist, the report said they are narrowing.
Middle school math needs to be an area of community focus for improvement in Tulsa. Area seventh-grade math proficiency was virtually unchanged from 2015 to 2016, and it still lags behind the rest of the state.
"This region, because it certainly values advanced manufacturing and it has many technically related jobs in the oil and gas industry and other places, that math work has to improve," Tapogna said. "And you would see it then impact college readiness."
While 83 percent of area high schoolers graduate each year, just 17 percent meet college readiness benchmarks on the ACT.
