A Multicultural Analysis

By Michael Troop
 CPS Office of Research, Evaluation, and
Accountability 2006

Hispanic = 54%
Caucasian = 18%
African-American = 14%
Approximately 90% of the student body
comes from families of low income and
nearly 12% of the students are limited
English proficient.
The data illustrates
that every ethnic
group failed to meet
the minimum AYP
target in 2006. What
is even more
staggering is that
roughly 58% of
Hispanic students
graduated. This is
less than the White
students in which
approximately 63%
graduated. Summary of AYP Amundsen H.S. CPS
Dept. of Research and Evaluation 2006
 CPS Department of Research and Evaluation

All Students (Regardless of Previous Drop Out Status)

All Students Students without Disabilities Students with Disabilities

# of # of % of # of # of % of # of # of % of
students students students students students students students students students
enrolled who who enrolled who who enrolled who who
at any dropped dropped at any dropped dropped at any dropped dropped
time out at out at time out at out at time out at out at
during any time any time during any time any time during any time any time
the during during the during during the during during
school the the school the the school the the
year school school year school school year school school
School Year
year year year year year year

1998 - 1999 1791 130 7.3 1607 107 6.7 184 23 12.5

1999 - 2000 1674 103 6.2 1483 79 5.3 191 24 12.6

2000 - 2001 1598 102 6.4 1388 78 5.6 210 24 11.4

2001 - 2002 1515 86 5.7 1301 66 5.1 214 20 9.3

2002 - 2003 1493 123 8.2 1275 100 7.8 218 23 10.6

2003 - 2004 1586 191 12.0 1348 151 11.2 238 40 16.8

2004 - 2005 1610 138 8.6 1363 119 8.7 247 19 7.7

2005 - 2006 1609 255 15.8 1345 210 15.6 264 45 17.0
Provides instructor with supplemental
material that modifies activities for special
needs students and Spanish speaking
students
Provides cooperative learning activities that
are suitable for students of varying academic
levels and abilities
Provides information and pictures of both
genders as well as multiple ethnic groups
Provides information and pictures of many
countries throughout the world
Four books. Virtually no pictures of any kind; mostly
graphs and tables.Only one picture of people from
different racial, ethnic, and gender groups.
Everything is in English. There are no supplemental
materials that support English Language Learners
(Keep in mind over 54% of the school population is
Hispanic and 12% of those are limited English
proficient).
Most of the activities take place in the United States.
The only reference to another country or ethnic
group was during the Human Population section.
Students will not be able to make a
connection to their lives and the information
in the text because the text lacks relevant
material related to his or her culture.
This will decrease motivation of my students
as it is written for “American” students with
high level analytic and interpretive ability.
Most of my students do not have this
academic characteristic.
Teachers no longer have the flexibility
to tailor curriculum, activities, or
assessments to the students academic
ability. All these materials are provided
to us by an outside vendor. No
modifications can be made.
Educators need to use a multicultural
approach to educating students in a
multicultural, or diverse classroom. By doing
so, students will not only feel empowered,
they will know that their culture and values
are being respected.
Educators need to use the viewpoints and
experiences of students to teach lessons
about the environment. Students will develop
decision making ability along with a sense of
community within the classroom.