The Syracuse City School District and the Westhill School
District are similar in that they are both regular public schools
located in a midsize central city. Most people would think that the
academic performance of each district would be similar. However,
statistics show a surprising difference in their instructional expenses,
their competency level, and the percent that go on to college.
The Syracuse school district and the Westhill school district
both have a budget for instructional exspenses. The Syracuse
school district's expense per pupil is 5,448 dollars each
school year. The teacher's salary averages approximatley 40,000
dollars annualy. Sixteen percent of the faculty have a Masters
degree or a Ph.d. In contrast the Westhill school district per pupil
expense is 5,022 dollars. Their teacher's salary average is about
46,044 dollars a year, while only nine percent of the faculty has a
The competency levels of the Syracuse school district and the
Westhill school district show a significant difference. The
competency level for eleventh grade students in the Syracuse
school district shows that 71 percent meet the reading
requirement. Only 69 percent meet the writing and even less meet
the math requirement at 63 percent. The average grade for the
ninth grade English regents exam is 71 percent. Earth Science
regents exam averages only 50 percent. 15 percent of the
students have a learning disability. 28 percent of which are taken
out of the classroom for more than 60 percent of the day. On the
other hand, the percent of elventh graders at Westhill Schools that
meet the compentency level for reading and writing is 98. In math
99 percent satisfy the requirement. The ninth grade students
average 92 percent on the English regents. Their Earth Science
scores are 95 percent. While only 10 percent of students are
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