The Center on Reinventing Public Education produced a report Oct. 7 that paints a vivid picture of public education throughout the nation, particularly for student of color and low-income students. The report also identified promising results.

"Measuring Up: Educational Improvement & Opportunity in 50 Cities" took the pulse of public education and offered a broad view of testing in both traditional district schools and charter schools. They examined academic achievements and beyond, observing nine indicators around school improvement, including the share of students enrolled in "beat the odds" schools, high school graduation rates, and the share of schools that lingered in the bottom 5 percent with regards to state proficiency.

The number of out-of-school suspensions, the percentage taking ACT/SAT tests, and enrollment rates in highest- and lowest-scoring elementary and middle schools are among the factors considered for low-income students and students of color. Across all cities examined, the average high school graduation rate was 75 percent.

Less than a third of the cities made gains in the areas of reading and math proficiency over three years relative to their state performance. Approximately 40 percent of schools in the bottom 5 percent remained there for three years. One-in-four student in ninth grade in 2009 didn't graduate from high school four years later, and less than 10 percent of all high school students enrolled in advanced math classes each year in 29 of the 50 examined cities throughout the length of the study. Also, in 30 of the 50 cities, less than 15 percent of all high school students took the ACT/SAT.

Multicultural and low-income students were less likely than non-Hispanic white and affluent students to enroll in high-scoring elementary and middle schools. For example, Los Angeles' Hispanic students were almost seven times as likely as white students to be enrolled in elementary or middle schools with low math achievement, and 8 percent of students were enrolled in schools that outperformed other schools with similar demographics in the state. In Phoenix, where the majority of students are Hispanic, Hispanic students were four times more likely than white students to be in a low-scoring elementary or middle school in math.

While the report is descriptive, it doesn't analyze the reasons for the contrasting results or dissect policies or reform efforts that may be behind them. It doesn't examine why Los Angeles' overall suspension rates reveal that Hispanic students were less likely to be suspended than their white counterparts. It doesn't explain why in 17 of the 50 cities, Hispanic students took the ACT/SAT at the same or better rates than white students. Also, it doesn't address why in Atlanta, Cincinnati, Columbus, Nashville, Baltimore and Minneapolis, Hispanics students took advanced math at higher rates than non-Latino white students.

The study authors wanted to report on students outside of traditional big-name urban cities. Instead they examined Toledo, Ohio; St. Paul, Minnesota; Fort Wayne, Indiana; San Jose, California; Raleigh, North Carolina; and Wichita, Kansas. Also, they chose to depart from conversations about Common Core, teacher evaluations, charter schools and policy debates, and they chose to focus on public education opportunities, findings about "beating the odds" and education reform debate.