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062599 College placements, student costs compared
By EMMA BLADEN
A report released last week by two Lewisboro residents judges the performance of the Katonah-Lewisboro School District, and its neighbors, by the numbers of 1998 high school graduates who were accepted into certain colleges.
The report also compares the amount local school districts spent educating each child to achieve those results.
The document was prepared by Robert Axel and Dean Travalino, who said this was the third year they had compiled this information in such a format.
Mr. Travalino said on Wednesday this week that the first year he and Mr. Axel prepared such a document for graduating seniors, they distributed only about 30 copies to their friends, for them all to have a useful tool by which to compare school districts.
The following year the pair distributed about 50 reports, this time to their friends and to community leaders and school district officials. "We wanted them to benchmark their own practices, and study the practices of those school districts who have more success," Mr. Travalino said.
Mr. Travalino said the pair had received many compliments on their report, from school district officials and even New York State Education Commissioner Richard Mills, to whom they had sent a copy.
"We wanted it to be used as information to promote discussion," he said. Mr.
Travalino said the report is available to anyone who would like it, by phoning him at 763-5393.
The pair's report compares 1998 graduating seniors from the Katonah Lewisboro, Bedford Central, Chappaqua, Scarsdale and Edgemont school districts. For each college or university district students were accepted into, the school's rankings in the 1998 Barron's Profiles of American Colleges and the US News & World Report's Best Colleges 1998 guide are shown.
The local residents' report's summary
in a row, and at a par with Bedford, though John Jay SAT scores, average household income and percent of households with college degrees are all higher than that of Bedford. In addition, Bedford has a higher percentage of its school-age population attending private schools (not included in this study), a significantly higher drop-out rate and a higher percentage of non-English-speaking households."
Some of the figures contained in the report are as follows:
On Chart A it shows that for high school students graduating from the Bedford Central School District in 1998, 13.7 percent went on to study in one of Barron's most competitive, or top 52, colleges or universities. That compares with 25.1 percent in Chappaqua; 24.7 percent in Edgemont; 14.1 percent in Katonah-Lewisboro, and 32.3 percent in Scarsdale.
Using the selection of universities and colleges rated by US News & World states that in 1997, 37.6 percent of John Report as in the top 90, in 1998, 18.8 Jay High School's graduates attended percent of Bedford's graduates were Barron's top 133 universities and col- accepted into those colleges. This comleges. The following year, the figure was pares with 49.7 percent in Chappaqua; 37.2 percent. A total of 57 percent of 41.9 percent in Edgemont;, 27.4 percent Chappaqua's 1998 graduates were in Katonah-Lewisboro; and 55.1 percent accepted into those colleges and universities; in Scarsdale.
Edgemont achieved 47.1 percent; The report also shows the amount Scarsdale 70.1 percent; and Bedford each of those school districts spent per achieved 37.0%. pupil in the 1997-98 school year:
The report states "John Jay's measured Bedford spent $15,685; Chappaqua performance has been substantially spent $13,854; Edgemont spent lower than that of Chappaqua, $13,826; Katonah-Lewisboro spent Edgemont and Scarsdale for three years $12,536; and Scarsdale spent $13,657.