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The Region as a Whole
Population Characteristics
The region consists of five jurisdictions: four states (Delaware,
Maryland, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania) and one city (Washington, DC). As
shown in Table 1, the
region is diverse. Pennsylvania is a large state with a total population
that ranks fifth in the nation and the most populous state in the
mid-Atlantic region. It includes the largest city (Philadelphia) and fourth
largest city (Pittsburgh) in the region, and yet it is the least densely
populated of the five areas. At the other extreme is Washington, DC, which
has the smallest population of any of the five political entities, yet it is
the most densely populated. New Jersey has no census-defined rural areas,
and Delaware has no city with a population of 100,000 or more. The region is
very urban, with 78.3% of the total population residing in census-defined
urban areas. Two states are considerably above the national urban figure of
75.2%, and one is close. Only Pennsylvania, with its very urban geographical
extremes, is noticeably below the national average. Overall, the region has
10 cities with a population of 100,000 or more, and leads in a variety of
indicators of modern morbidity.
(See Table 2: Cities with
a population of 100,000 plus)
While population growth is expected in the region, it is likely to be
slower than elsewhere. The projected annual population growth rate for the
area for the years between 1995 and 2000 is 2.4%, about half the rate for
the nation as a whole. Differences in the age distributions explain these
different growth rate projections. In the nation as a whole, 7.6% of the
population is less than five years and 12.7% is 65 or older. In the
mid-Atlantic region, 7.2% of the population is less than five years old, but
14.1% is 65 years or older. In Pennsylvania, the most populous state, the
five and younger figure is the lowest (6.7%) and the 65 years and older
figure is the highest (15.8%). Needless to say, this latter group has
different spending priorities than younger people--and education,
unfortunately, is not one of them.
The dependency ratio shows the number of "dependents" in society, i.e.,
those people who are being cared for by society either because they are too
young (15 years and younger) or too old (65 years and older) relative to the
population as a whole. Although younger dependents provide growth and
security for the future, large percentages of older dependents constitute a
problem. Upon converting the ratio into a percentage, we see that in the
nation as a whole, 38.7% of the population is defined as dependent. The
percentage for Washington, DC is lower (36.2%) despite the fact that the
percentage for the youngest age group (less than five years) is higher than
that for the nation. On the other hand, the percentage for Pennsylvania
(39.6%) is slightly higher than that for the nation because of a large older
group. Unfortunately for the nation as a whole, these population imbalances
will be heightened as the baby boomers age. The plus side is that the demise
of mandatory retirement will ease the burden since people who continue to
work not only contribute to the tax base, but also do not take money out of
the system in the form of transfer payments such as social security. The
downside is, however, that significant implications for job opportunities
and labor market incentives for the young may result.
Community Conditions
The diversity of the mid-Atlantic region is obvious when social
conditions are considered, as shown in
Table 3. In Washington,
DC, for example, social ills are many: the percentage of teenage mothers is
nearly 30% greater than the national percentage, while the percentages of
low birth weight babies and unmarried mothers are more than double the
respective national percentages. By excepting Washington, DC, which must be
compared with other large cities in the region since its considerable
problems are urban in nature, some commonalties appear among the
mid-Atlantic states. Although the percentage of teenage mothers varies
slightly from state to state, it is lower in each state than the national
percentage. With regard to low birth weight babies, a key demographic
indicator of the health of a population, the percentages vary little among
the states, but are always higher than the national percentage. Finally,
only New Jersey has a lower percentage of unmarried mothers than the
national percentage.
An important indicator for assessing the "quality of life" in the region
is the crime rate. There is some variation, but not what might be expected.
Washington, DC does have the highest crime rate (11,407 reported crimes per
100,000 people in 1992), but Pennsylvania has the lowest crime rate (3,393).
Density cannot be the explanation since the three other states vary
considerably in density, but not in crime rates (Delaware: 4,848; Maryland:
6,225; New Jersey: 5,064). It is interesting to note that when Washington,
DC is compared with the five other largest cities in the region, it fares a
little better.
(See Table 4: Crime Rate
for Selected Cities in the Mid-Atlantic Region per 100,000 People)
Another important indicator for assessing the "quality of life" in the
mid-Atlantic region is the rate of child abuse/neglect. Here the
jurisdictions vary considerably. Washington, DC does have the highest rate
(10 reported incidents per 100 children under the age of 18 in 1992), while
Pennsylvania has the lowest (0.9). Curiously, the most urban state, New
Jersey, has the second lowest rate (2.7).
Education Conditions
The profile of the education needs of the region is based on several
unique characteristics. These include: population/student characteristics,
school district characteristics, urban/suburban/rural comparisons, and
regional large city comparisons.
Population/Student Characteristics
Considerable regional variation in educational attainment occurs both
within areas of the mid-Atlantic region as well as among them (see
Table 5). Washington, DC
has the highest percentage o f people who did not graduate from high school,
as well as the highest percentage of highly educated people, i.e., those
with 16 or more years of education. It also has the highest dropout rate.
Among the states, Pennsylvania has the highest percentage of people who did
not graduate from high school, and the lowest percentage of people with 16
or more years of education. In the region, Pennsylvanians have the highest
rate of high school graduation, higher even than the national figure.
Additionally, t his state also has the lowest dropout percentage. Despite a
less than 1% increase in public school enrollment in the nation, all five
areas exhibited increases in public school enrollment, ranging from 7% in
Delaware to 2.8% in Maryland.
There is variation in the achievement figures as well. New Jersey and
Pennsylvania both report a greater percentage of fourth-grade students
reading above the national proficiency figure, while Delaware and Maryland
come close to matching that standard. Meanwhile, the figure for Washington,
DC is significantly lower--at less than half the national percentage.
School District Characteristics
An interesting picture of the mid-Atlantic region can be drawn when
considering the characteristics of school districts (see
Table 6). For example,
although small in numbers, the percentage of change in schools devoted
solely to special education is noteworthy. Despite arguments that
mainstreaming makes educational sense, Delaware ( 35%), Maryland (17.4%),
and New Jersey (15.5%) all showed growth of segregated special education
schools.
Because the number of school districts and service agencies per state and
the mean number of schools per school district vary considerably in the
mid-Atlantic region, solutions to problems must be customized to address
these very different bureaucratic realities.
The 1992 mean expenditure per pupil is notably higher in each
jurisdiction than the national figure. Indeed, New Jersey ranks the highest
in the nation in mean expenditure per pupil, while Washington, DC is second,
and Delaware, the lowest in the region, ranks only 13th. All of these
expenditures increased from their 1987 levels, with Washington, D.C.
experiencing the greatest rate of change (48.4%).
With the exception of Washington, DC, each area showed rates of growth in
the numbers of students enrolled in grades 1 through 8 ranging from 14.6% in
Maryland to 5.9% for New Jersey. These numbers indicate that states need to
plan for the expansion of facilities rather than constriction.
Finally, there is considerable variation in the racial/ethnic composition
of students enrolled in public schools in the mid-Atlantic region. In
Washington, DC, the majority of students are African American (89.5%); the
percentage of African Americans in each of the states is higher that the
national figure of 16.4% in each case with the exception of Pennsylvania. In
Pennsylvania, the majority of public school students are white (82.2%); t he
remaining states are close to the national percentage for whites of 67.4%.
With the exception of New Jersey, the percentages of Latinos in the region
are well below the national percentage of 11.8%.
Urban/Suburban/Rural Comparisons
A different picture of the region emerges when the school district data are
recombined and then differentiated according to type of neighborhood (see
Table 7). The
designation used in the U.S. Department of Education's Common Core of Data
(1994) is that defined in the census. As such, although there certainly are
sparsely settled areas in New Jersey, officially there are no "rural areas"
in the state.
School Characteristics
In the region as a whole, most of the school districts are located in
suburban areas (82.3%), followed by rural areas (14.6%), and urban areas
(3.1%). While the mean number of schools per school district is the same for
the suburban and rural areas (4.7% each), it is considerably higher for the
urban districts (31.3%). The largest school district is Philadelphia where
there are 258 schools. Most of the students in the region attend school in
suburban areas, fewer attend urban schools, and the fewest go to rural
schools.
On the average , although the figure is lower for suburban schools,
student/teacher ratios exhibit little variation. Mean expenditures per
student vary: suburban school districts report the highest figure, and rural
areas, the lowest. These figures are slightly misleading as urban areas have
a higher cost of living index that should be factored in.
Student Body Characteristics
As might be expected, there is considerable variation in the income
figures for households with children. The modal figure f or urban areas is
less than half of what the comparable suburban school figure is. The modal
figure for rural areas is just slightly higher than that for urban areas.
The mean percentage of adults without a high school diploma is highest in
urban areas and lowest in suburban areas. Not unexpectedly, there are vast
differences in racial composition between these groups. While the majority
of students attending urban schools in the region are not white (56.7%), the
vast majority attending suburban school s (84.3%) and rural schools (92.6%)
are white.
The mean percentage of students who are below the poverty level in urban
schools is more than three times higher than the figure from suburban
schools and nearly 50% greater than that for rural schools. The mean
percentage of "at risk" students in urban schools is more than five times
what it is for suburban schools and three and a half times what it is for
rural schools. Although the mean percentages are not high, urban areas do
report a greater percentage of students who "speak English not well."
Regional Large City Comparisons
As indicated earlier, the mid-Atlantic region is a very urban one. Despite
the large rural sections in Pennsylvania, the percentage of urbanity in the
mid-Atlantic region is greater than the national figure. In an effort to
better understand the nature of the problems faced by educators and to
provide a more reasonable basis of comparison, let us consider the
conditions in the five largest cities in the region (see
Table 8). There is
almost as much variation between these five cities as there was between the
states. In addition, there are few consistent patterns. The largest city is
not the most densely populated one. The most densely populated city does not
have the highest crime rate. There is greater variation in the percentage of
single-parent households than there is in the percentage of those below the
poverty level.
Population Characteristics
Philadelphia is the largest of the cities, and Newark is the smallest.
All suffered population loss in the 1980-1990 time period, with Newark
suffering the greatest percent change and Washington, DC, the least. Density
varies as well. The least densely populated city (Pittsburgh) and the most
densely populated city (Philadelphia) are both located in Pennsylvania.
In some ways, Newark is plagued with more problems than the four other
cities. It has the highest crime rate, the largest percentage of
single-parent households, the highest unemployment rate, and the highest
percentage of people living below the poverty rate.
School Characteristics
As would be expected given the population size differences, the number
of students enrolled in public schools varies as well. However, the smallest
city, Newark, does not have the smallest student population. Indeed, in
Newark, 25% of the population is enrolled in school whereas the comparable
figure in Pittsburgh is 17%.
The difference in student/teacher ratios is astounding. The Newark figure
is considerably lower than that in the four other cities. The explanation
lies in the differences in per pupil expenditures. This city data
demonstrates why New Jersey ranks first in school expenditures. Subtracting
the core instruction expenditures from the total expenditures, it appears
that the real differences are in the non-core instruction expenditures:
nearly three times as much money is spent on non-core expenditures in Newark
than in Baltimore. These extra-classroom expenditures can go a long way to
ameliorating and compensating for the vastly different social conditions of
these students.
Student Body Characteristics
The differences in median incomes of households with children is
surprisingly small. Such is not the case with the other student body
characteristics. Pittsburgh has the smallest minority population, and
Washington, DC, has the largest, with more than twice the number of
Pittsburgh. Newark has the highest percent age of students identified as "at
risk," and Pittsburgh has the lowest, with fewer than half the number of
Newark.
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