Tolman+High+School



Theodore Roosevelt once said, "A man who has never gone to school may steal from a freight car; but if he has a university education he may steal the whole railroad." High school education is the foundation of a good future. William E. Tolman Senior High School, known to its students primarily as Tolman High School, is one of few high school that is located in Pawtucket, RI. It was built in 1926 on the east bank of the Blackstone River. Tolman High School has a long-standing rivalry with St. Raphael's Academy for the Thanksgiving football game, which makes the students and community full of Tolman pride. This information is helpful to everyone: parents choosing a school for their children, students with questions about their own school or schools in their community or state, and anyone else to whom curiosity raises about how certain high school are performing, despite their reputations. The audience will be able to know the demographics of Tolman's students, how the students perform, and some of the results of the SALT surveys that have recently been conducted.

Demographics...Getting to Know Tolman Students
Although Tolman has become more diverse over the years, the majority of students that are enrolled are white. There is a large sum of Hispanics and African Americans that is almost equal to that of whites. However, only 22 students of over 1300 are either Asian or American. The differences of race play a roll in different aspects of the learning community at Tolman High School. Regardless, Tolman High school is located in the Western side of Pawtucket, which tends to be less wealthy than the Eastern side

Tolman and its Students
William E. Tolman High School seems to fall behind the Rhode Island average in many aspects of its students proficiency and performance. To begin, there are an extensive amount of suspensions at Tolman High School. The average amount of suspended students in Rhode Islands school is 55.8 per 100 students. In Pawtucket, the average rate is 67.2 per 100 students, which is 11.4 more than the state's average. However, when looking at Tolman High School alone, the average suspension rate per 100 students is 85.6. This is more than 150% of the average of Rhode Island's average rate. On the other hand, the mental stability of the students at Tolman is recorded to be not too big of an issue. Only 9% of students claim to have family problems at home most of the time or always, while 39% of students claim to have a problem with teachers most of the time or always. This statistics might connect to the high suspension rate of students at Tolman.

One major problem at Tolman High School is the high dropout rate that it possesses. Students should want to attend school in order to better themselves and their education, preparing them for life. However, at Tolman, the dropout rate is a stunning 25%, compared to Pawtucket's 22% rate, and the state or Rhode Island's rate of 11%. This means that in Rhode Island, less than one out of ten students will dropout before graduated, but at Tolman High School, one out of four students that begin in the ninth grade will dropout before their graduation date.

Performance of Tolman Students
Although the stability of the students of William E. Tolman Senior High School seems to be below average compared to the city of Pawtucket and the state of Rhode Island, the performance of its students is not far behind the average. Granted, levels of performance never seem to exceed the averages, but the Tolman students are not too far behind. In the SATs, the students of Tolman High School scored about 93% of the average scores of Rhode Island. In math, Tolman students scored and average of 454, while the average for all students in Rhode Island was 487. In reading, Tolman's average was 448 and Rhode Island's average was 483. Finally, in writing, Tolman students scored an average of 450 while the average of all Rhode Island students was 479.

The graph below shows the proficiency levels of students who are characterized by different categories. As you can see, the level of proficiency is significantly lower for students that have disabilities, even more so in math than ELA (English Language Arts). The question here is "why?" Are students with disabilities at Tolman High School not given opportunities to learn differently in order to be proficient in their school subjects? The female and male population are nearly proficient in math at the same level. However, in ELA, the proficiency levels differ greatly, with females exceeding their male peers. The most interesting of the three different categories is the proficiency rate of students in poverty and students that are not in poverty. The levels are more close together than in any of the other categories. Where students in poverty exceed beyond those not in poverty (ELA), students who are not in poverty have a smaller proficiency level. Furthermore, where students who are not in poverty exceed beyond their peers (math), students who are in poverty have a smaller proficiency level. If you look at these numbers as a whole, however, the students of Tolman High School are not proficient beyond 50%.

Tolman's Teachers Talk - SALT Surveys
In a SALT survey, conducted in the school year of 2006-07, the amount of teachers that responded decreased immensely. The rate of teachers that responded throughout the entire state of Rhode Island changes from 55% to 61% to 57%, within a three year spread. However, at William E. Tolman Senior High School, these numbers are completely different. In 04-05, the participation rate of teachers at Tolman High School was 59%. In the school year of 05-06, the number dropped ten percent to 49%. In the school year of 06-07, the rate of teacher participation in the SALT survey dropped unbelievably to 19%.

Some of the responses of teachers that actually took the time to fill out the SALT survey in the school year of 06-07 are shocking. Teachers who believe that there is a minor or major problem with lack of training of the school's teachers was 63%, compared to the state's rate of 50% of teachers. Although not that far from the state's average, still, over half of the teachers at Tolman High School believe that their colleagues are not properly trained. Furthermore, there is a large amount of the teachers at Tolman who believe that "things are pretty disorganized." Compared to the 18% of teachers in Rhode Island who believe that things are unorganized, 42% of the teachers at Tolman High believe things are disorganized. Teachers have also replied to how often their colleagues push themselves to do their best. Only 55% of teachers at Tolman believe they and their colleagues are pushing themselves. On the contrary, teachers do not feel very involved with decision-making processes. For example, only 20% of teachers at Tolman High School feel as though they are involved in making decisions regarding student discipline, while 53% of teachers in the state feel the same way. Although teachers may not feel involved enough, all teachers at Tolman are highly qualified for their jobs.

Student SALT Surveys
The purpose of the SALT survey is to provide information about the school, its performance, it students, and its teachers in order to create a safer, more efficient environment for learning and education. A SALT survey was conducted for William E. Tolman High School for the school year of 2006-07. Information is based on a scale of answers that include: never, hardly ever, sometimes, and often. The scale is also numerical as follows: never = 1.0, hardly ever = 2.0, sometimes = 3.0, often = 4.0. In the school year of 2006-07, students answered various question about their school. The students polled 2.8 out of 4 when asked how often they work in small groups for activities. This is actually the same rate as the average of all high school students in the state of Rhode Island. Students feel like they hardly ever get the opportunity in class for community based learning in both Rhode Island (2.3) and at Tolman High School (2.1). A high rate of students, however, do report being assigned papers, presentations, and written assignments. In both Tolman and RI, the rate is just over "sometimes," at 3.1. Tolman is above the rate of Rhode Island when students were asked how often they are given activities that promote different cultures. In Rhode Island the rate is 2.7. Shockingly, the rate for Tolman's students is above that of the average of Rhode Island, at 2.8.

Conclusion[[image:tolman_keychain.jpg width="124" height="124" align="right"]]
William E. Tolman Senior High School is part of a safe and less-wealthy community in Pawtucket. The teachers are qualified and although the graduation rate of its students is low, students are putting in as much effort as they can. Students at Tolman become more diversified by the year. They all work hard but only half are proficient when given standardized tests. Tolman High School also has a high rate of suspensions compared to the average of students throughout the entire state of Rhode Island, but the number has decreased immensely within the last few years. A prediction for a positive change in the future can be made in regards to the performance of its students and the level of care that radiates from its teaches.

Author: Briana P