Equal Opportunity in the Fort Wayne Community Schools: A ...

having master's degrees, and less experiencedteaching staffs. (Data on certification of teacherswere not analyzed because information interpretingthese data was not included in the district'slist.)Specifically, all but two of the high minority elementaryschools also have more than the districtwideproportion of minority teachers. By comparison,27 of the 33 low minority elementaryschools have less than the district-wide proportionof minority teachers. While 8 of the 12 highminority schools have a proportion of teacherswith master's degrees which is less than the district-wideaverage, the opposite is true of the lowminority schools. Twenty-two of the district's 33low minority schools have a proportion of teacherswith master's degrees which is more than the district-wideaverage. Similarly, 8 of the 12 highminority schools have faculties with less than thedistrict-wide average years of teaching experience,while 21 of the district's 33 low minority schoolshave faculties with more than the district-wideaverage years of teaching experience.When Commission staff submitted these data tothe Chi Square test of statistical significance, thefollowing relationships were found:a) The relationship between the race of teachersand the racial composition of the schools towhich they were assigned was significant at the.001 level (x 2= ll.O5). That is, minority teacherswere disproportionately assigned to schools havinghigh minority enrollment.b) The relationship between teachers' academiccredentials and racial composition of their assignedschools was significant at the .001 level(X 2 =14.55). That is, teachers having master'sdegrees were disproportionately assigned toschools having low minority enrollments.c) The relationship between teachers' length ofteaching experience and the racial compositionof their assigned schools was significant at the.001 level (x 2 =18.56). That is, teachers havingmore years of experience were disproportionatelyassigned to schools having low minority enrollments.It should be noted that tests of statistical significance,such as the Chi Square, indicate neitherthe causes nor intent behind the relationshipsunder examination. "Statistical significance" refersto the likelihood that a given relationship betweentwo variables is a random occurrence. In each ofthe three relationships between variables examinedhere, therefore, the likelihood that any of thesepatterns occurred by chance is less than one outof 1,000.The Chi Square tests reported here were basedupon data for each of the district's 757 reportedelementary teachers, and are presented in table G-2 of this appendix.The unequal distribution of teacher characteristicsin the schools is directly related to the racial compositionof student bodies. In the case of assignmentof minority teachers, the effect is to contributeto the identifiability of some schools asbeing intended for one racial group. In the case ofthe distribution of teachers' credentials and experienceamong schools, the effect is to provide alower level of resources to schools currently havinghigh minority enrollments.Based on this analysis, it is clear that among elementaryschools in the FWCS there is not yet "asubstantially equal admixture of teachers" accordingto their race, experience, and credentials.45