Abstract
Atlas of Education in the Midwest
Track: Administration and Policy
Authors: Matt Burke
This computer presentation will explore the Atlas of Education in the Midwest project and website (http://www.learningpt.org/rel/atlas/). The first round of district-level maps were created for six of seven states from the REL Midwest region (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Wisconsin) displaying three different background variables: mother's educational attainment, percent of students eligible for free and reduced-price lunch, and percentage of minority students. Next, school-level high school dropout rates were displayed over the district-level variables. Displaying data in this way allows the viewer to quickly identify pockets of high and low performing schools, problem areas, and relationships between district characteristics and school outcomes. While the Atlas website is in its infancy, work continues in 2012 with Blue Raster to develop an interactive Atlas site using ArcGIS Server in order to provide a fully customizable user experience in which individuals can access and display data unique to their state, district, or school.