Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Schools are extremely well funded here and yet even the very best schools are only just fine (and the bad schools are so bad they look more like jobs programs for their employees than places for kids to learn).

Schools are decently funded, not well. Just because we spend a lot per pupil does not mean we are well funded. Salaries in general are higher here, this every teacher, social worker, music teacher, etc. costs more.

If you want better schools you should look at how the countries getting results teach. Students actually have LESS hours of direct instruction and both students AND teachers spend more time collaborating with peers. However here in US for some reason more is ‘better’ and teaching has also become babysitting. If your child is disruptive in other countries it’s not as acceptable as it is here.

We don’t need to look abroad. You can look just about anywhere else in this country. Our students are outscored on proficiency tests by kids in Mississippi. DC schools are uniquely bad.

You are comparing an entire state to one city. I bet if you just looked at city-to-city comparisons only you will get a different picture.

I am not trying to say DC schools are fine...they aren't...but let's at least do apples-to-apples comparisons.

You think poorly funded schools in the middle of nowhere Mississippi have some unfair advantage over DC schools?

You can see how bad DC is here, per the New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/24/us/math-reading-scores-pandemic.html

Again, you provided state wide results…there are of course many well-funded suburban schools in every state including Mississippi, with high test scores.

The only fair comparison is urban school district vs urban school district.

To repeat…I don’t think DC schools are good but you can’t use just a city school district compared to an entire state for a true comparison.

Why not? Please explain. People compare DC to states all the time…

You really need this explained? It’s fair to compare DCPS which is just a city to all of Maryland and not Baltimore? It’s fair to compare DCPS to all of Michigan but not Detroit?

What other explanation do you need?

DC is one of the wealthiest, most well educated cities in the entire world, with schools that are lavishly funded compared to most other places. You think we should be compared to...Detroit?

I think cities should be compared to other cities. Fairly simple concept, no?

DC's median income is $65,000/year. Yes, it is considered one of the 10 highest median income cities in the US...so fine, compare us to San Francisco, Seattle, Denver, Boston, Nashvill, NYC public schools.

Very strange how this concept eludes you.

This.

Also, it's not the overall wealth of the city that is going to dictate the quality of its public schools. Cities tend to have more individual people living under the poverty line than suburbs, small towns, and rural areas. And all of these kids are in public schools. DC has many wealthy people, but what percent of their kids go to public schools? It is harder to educated kids in poverty. Test scores correlate very closely with parental incomes and education level. So cities often have lower mean and median test scores in public schools because the percent of public school students living in poverty in a city will be much higher than the percent of student state wide living in poverty. The public school test scores for the state of Maryland will include all the kids living in poverty in Baltimore City, yes. But it will also include all the kids in the suburbs with well-educated, high income parents, of which there are far more state wide.

If you look at scores in DCPS on a school-by-school basis, you will find that the schools with high at risk numbers have the lowest test scores (and there are many of these schools), and the schools with low at risk numbers have the highest test scores (there are far fewer of these schools). The wealthiest students in DC mostly attend private schools, plus charters attract a disproportionate number of UMC and MC families as compared to poor families. Thus DCPS is left to educate the city's neediest children, who receive the least support at home, have the least educated parents, and often have major disruptions such as housing insecurity, food insecurity, parents who are unemployed, in prison, or have substance abuse issues. You will find the same issues in most major cities in the country.

Which is why it makes no sense to compare DCPS with statewide averages for test scores and school performance, and the proper comparison is other major city systems.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sometimes DC schools are so bad it is almost mind bending.

During the 2022-2023 school year, ONE THIRD of all ninth graders in Washington DC skipped more than 30 percent of the ENTIRE SCHOOL YEAR. 60 PERCENT of all students missed at least 10 percent of all school days.

Chronic absenteeism became a major problem during the absurdly long school closures here during the pandemic (thanks WTU!) and, if anything, seems to be getting worse.

The norm of kids going to school each day isn't the norm anymore.


https://www.dcpolicycenter.org/publications/dc-fiscal-future-in-education/#:~:text=By%20fiscal%20year%202024%2C%20the,9%20percent%20during%20this%20period.

Besides above, what middle or high school do you know where 90% or greater of the kids are not on grade level such as math. It’s just unbelievable and astounding that this is acceptable, continues every year, and the schools continue to function and be opened with the status quo.

What on earth are you talking about. Poolsville, Whitman, and McLean are three examples of high schools where less than 90% of students score proficient on their state’s math proficiency exam. You are calling for the total shut down of all public high schools everywhere.

Also? This really is one of those things that, in OP’s phrase, “some other person should sue DCPS for.” The average SAT score for white kids in DCPS is higher than the average SAT score for white kids nationally. Judging by white kids only, DCPS is an excellent school system. Whether you know it or not, what you’re mad about is the racial achievement gap. And the people on the winning side of that gap can’t exactly sue about it.

So you’re saying we shouldn’t care about how horribly DCPS does with black kids?

DCPS? Why don’t you look at the truancy and tardy rate data for black students?
What is the CITY doing to make sure these kids even go to school?

You know that now kids can come to school at 2pm and it doesn’t count as an absence? Kids in HS can come to the last 30% of class and it counts as well?


Tell me how we are to move students who don’t come to school enough? I’d love to see the data for black students of the same SES who go to school 90% of the time and are ON time vs. the kids who come 65% or less and are tardy.

I am a black teacher and I want better for black students. DCPS is at fault for something though…which is continuing to lower standards.

Anonymous wrote:again - love how everyone is giving fuel to Russia to create fights in the US.

Pour gasoline on the the littlest issue and watch everyone burn

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Schools are extremely well funded here and yet even the very best schools are only just fine (and the bad schools are so bad they look more like jobs programs for their employees than places for kids to learn).

Schools are decently funded, not well. Just because we spend a lot per pupil does not mean we are well funded. Salaries in general are higher here, this every teacher, social worker, music teacher, etc. costs more.

If you want better schools you should look at how the countries getting results teach. Students actually have LESS hours of direct instruction and both students AND teachers spend more time collaborating with peers. However here in US for some reason more is ‘better’ and teaching has also become babysitting. If your child is disruptive in other countries it’s not as acceptable as it is here.

We don’t need to look abroad. You can look just about anywhere else in this country. Our students are outscored on proficiency tests by kids in Mississippi. DC schools are uniquely bad.

You are comparing an entire state to one city. I bet if you just looked at city-to-city comparisons only you will get a different picture.

I am not trying to say DC schools are fine...they aren't...but let's at least do apples-to-apples comparisons.

You think poorly funded schools in the middle of nowhere Mississippi have some unfair advantage over DC schools?

You can see how bad DC is here, per the New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/24/us/math-reading-scores-pandemic.html

Again, you provided state wide results…there are of course many well-funded suburban schools in every state including Mississippi, with high test scores.

The only fair comparison is urban school district vs urban school district.

To repeat…I don’t think DC schools are good but you can’t use just a city school district compared to an entire state for a true comparison.

Why not? Please explain. People compare DC to states all the time…

You really need this explained? It’s fair to compare DCPS which is just a city to all of Maryland and not Baltimore? It’s fair to compare DCPS to all of Michigan but not Detroit?

What other explanation do you need?

DC is one of the wealthiest, most well educated cities in the entire world, with schools that are lavishly funded compared to most other places. You think we should be compared to...Detroit?

I think cities should be compared to other cities. Fairly simple concept, no?

DC's median income is $65,000/year. Yes, it is considered one of the 10 highest median income cities in the US...so fine, compare us to San Francisco, Seattle, Denver, Boston, Nashvill, NYC public schools.

Very strange how this concept eludes you.

This.

Also, it's not the overall wealth of the city that is going to dictate the quality of its public schools. Cities tend to have more individual people living under the poverty line than suburbs, small towns, and rural areas. And all of these kids are in public schools. DC has many wealthy people, but what percent of their kids go to public schools? It is harder to educated kids in poverty. Test scores correlate very closely with parental incomes and education level. So cities often have lower mean and median test scores in public schools because the percent of public school students living in poverty in a city will be much higher than the percent of student state wide living in poverty. The public school test scores for the state of Maryland will include all the kids living in poverty in Baltimore City, yes. But it will also include all the kids in the suburbs with well-educated, high income parents, of which there are far more state wide.

If you look at scores in DCPS on a school-by-school basis, you will find that the schools with high at risk numbers have the lowest test scores (and there are many of these schools), and the schools with low at risk numbers have the highest test scores (there are far fewer of these schools). The wealthiest students in DC mostly attend private schools, plus charters attract a disproportionate number of UMC and MC families as compared to poor families. Thus DCPS is left to educate the city's neediest children, who receive the least support at home, have the least educated parents, and often have major disruptions such as housing insecurity, food insecurity, parents who are unemployed, in prison, or have substance abuse issues. You will find the same issues in most major cities in the country.

Which is why it makes no sense to compare DCPS with statewide averages for test scores and school performance, and the proper comparison is other major city systems.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Schools are extremely well funded here and yet even the very best schools are only just fine (and the bad schools are so bad they look more like jobs programs for their employees than places for kids to learn).

Schools are decently funded, not well. Just because we spend a lot per pupil does not mean we are well funded. Salaries in general are higher here, this every teacher, social worker, music teacher, etc. costs more.

If you want better schools you should look at how the countries getting results teach. Students actually have LESS hours of direct instruction and both students AND teachers spend more time collaborating with peers. However here in US for some reason more is ‘better’ and teaching has also become babysitting. If your child is disruptive in other countries it’s not as acceptable as it is here.

We don’t need to look abroad. You can look just about anywhere else in this country. Our students are outscored on proficiency tests by kids in Mississippi. DC schools are uniquely bad.

You are comparing an entire state to one city. I bet if you just looked at city-to-city comparisons only you will get a different picture.

I am not trying to say DC schools are fine...they aren't...but let's at least do apples-to-apples comparisons.

You think poorly funded schools in the middle of nowhere Mississippi have some unfair advantage over DC schools?

You can see how bad DC is here, per the New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/24/us/math-reading-scores-pandemic.html

Again, you provided state wide results…there are of course many well-funded suburban schools in every state including Mississippi, with high test scores.

The only fair comparison is urban school district vs urban school district.

To repeat…I don’t think DC schools are good but you can’t use just a city school district compared to an entire state for a true comparison.

Why not? Please explain. People compare DC to states all the time…

You really need this explained? It’s fair to compare DCPS which is just a city to all of Maryland and not Baltimore? It’s fair to compare DCPS to all of Michigan but not Detroit?

What other explanation do you need?

DC is one of the wealthiest, most well educated cities in the entire world, with schools that are lavishly funded compared to most other places. You think we should be compared to...Detroit?

I think cities should be compared to other cities. Fairly simple concept, no?

DC's median income is $65,000/year. Yes, it is considered one of the 10 highest median income cities in the US...so fine, compare us to San Francisco, Seattle, Denver, Boston, Nashvill, NYC public schools.

Very strange how this concept eludes you.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Schools are extremely well funded here and yet even the very best schools are only just fine (and the bad schools are so bad they look more like jobs programs for their employees than places for kids to learn).

Schools are decently funded, not well. Just because we spend a lot per pupil does not mean we are well funded. Salaries in general are higher here, this every teacher, social worker, music teacher, etc. costs more.

If you want better schools you should look at how the countries getting results teach. Students actually have LESS hours of direct instruction and both students AND teachers spend more time collaborating with peers. However here in US for some reason more is ‘better’ and teaching has also become babysitting. If your child is disruptive in other countries it’s not as acceptable as it is here.

We don’t need to look abroad. You can look just about anywhere else in this country. Our students are outscored on proficiency tests by kids in Mississippi. DC schools are uniquely bad.

You are comparing an entire state to one city. I bet if you just looked at city-to-city comparisons only you will get a different picture.

I am not trying to say DC schools are fine...they aren't...but let's at least do apples-to-apples comparisons.

You think poorly funded schools in the middle of nowhere Mississippi have some unfair advantage over DC schools?

You can see how bad DC is here, per the New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/24/us/math-reading-scores-pandemic.html

Again, you provided state wide results…there are of course many well-funded suburban schools in every state including Mississippi, with high test scores.

The only fair comparison is urban school district vs urban school district.

To repeat…I don’t think DC schools are good but you can’t use just a city school district compared to an entire state for a true comparison.

Why not? Please explain. People compare DC to states all the time…

You really need this explained? It’s fair to compare DCPS which is just a city to all of Maryland and not Baltimore? It’s fair to compare DCPS to all of Michigan but not Detroit?

What other explanation do you need?

DC is one of the wealthiest, most well educated cities in the entire world, with schools that are lavishly funded compared to most other places. You think we should be compared to...Detroit?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Schools are extremely well funded here and yet even the very best schools are only just fine (and the bad schools are so bad they look more like jobs programs for their employees than places for kids to learn).

Schools are decently funded, not well. Just because we spend a lot per pupil does not mean we are well funded. Salaries in general are higher here, this every teacher, social worker, music teacher, etc. costs more.

If you want better schools you should look at how the countries getting results teach. Students actually have LESS hours of direct instruction and both students AND teachers spend more time collaborating with peers. However here in US for some reason more is ‘better’ and teaching has also become babysitting. If your child is disruptive in other countries it’s not as acceptable as it is here.

We don’t need to look abroad. You can look just about anywhere else in this country. Our students are outscored on proficiency tests by kids in Mississippi. DC schools are uniquely bad.

You are comparing an entire state to one city. I bet if you just looked at city-to-city comparisons only you will get a different picture.

I am not trying to say DC schools are fine...they aren't...but let's at least do apples-to-apples comparisons.

You think poorly funded schools in the middle of nowhere Mississippi have some unfair advantage over DC schools?

You can see how bad DC is here, per the New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/24/us/math-reading-scores-pandemic.html

Again, you provided state wide results…there are of course many well-funded suburban schools in every state including Mississippi, with high test scores.

The only fair comparison is urban school district vs urban school district.

To repeat…I don’t think DC schools are good but you can’t use just a city school district compared to an entire state for a true comparison.

Why not? Please explain. People compare DC to states all the time…

You really need this explained? It’s fair to compare DCPS which is just a city to all of Maryland and not Baltimore? It’s fair to compare DCPS to all of Michigan but not Detroit?

What other explanation do you need?

I think you won't explain it because, when you do, you'll sound incredibly racist.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Schools are extremely well funded here and yet even the very best schools are only just fine (and the bad schools are so bad they look more like jobs programs for their employees than places for kids to learn).

Schools are decently funded, not well. Just because we spend a lot per pupil does not mean we are well funded. Salaries in general are higher here, this every teacher, social worker, music teacher, etc. costs more.

If you want better schools you should look at how the countries getting results teach. Students actually have LESS hours of direct instruction and both students AND teachers spend more time collaborating with peers. However here in US for some reason more is ‘better’ and teaching has also become babysitting. If your child is disruptive in other countries it’s not as acceptable as it is here.

We don’t need to look abroad. You can look just about anywhere else in this country. Our students are outscored on proficiency tests by kids in Mississippi. DC schools are uniquely bad.

You are comparing an entire state to one city. I bet if you just looked at city-to-city comparisons only you will get a different picture.

I am not trying to say DC schools are fine...they aren't...but let's at least do apples-to-apples comparisons.

You think poorly funded schools in the middle of nowhere Mississippi have some unfair advantage over DC schools?

You can see how bad DC is here, per the New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/24/us/math-reading-scores-pandemic.html

Again, you provided state wide results…there are of course many well-funded suburban schools in every state including Mississippi, with high test scores.

The only fair comparison is urban school district vs urban school district.

To repeat…I don’t think DC schools are good but you can’t use just a city school district compared to an entire state for a true comparison.

Why not? Please explain. People compare DC to states all the time…

You really need this explained? It’s fair to compare DCPS which is just a city to all of Maryland and not Baltimore? It’s fair to compare DCPS to all of Michigan but not Detroit?

What other explanation do you need?

DC is one of the wealthiest, most well educated cities in the entire world, with schools that are lavishly funded compared to most other places. You think we should be compared to...Detroit?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Schools are extremely well funded here and yet even the very best schools are only just fine (and the bad schools are so bad they look more like jobs programs for their employees than places for kids to learn).

Schools are decently funded, not well. Just because we spend a lot per pupil does not mean we are well funded. Salaries in general are higher here, this every teacher, social worker, music teacher, etc. costs more.

If you want better schools you should look at how the countries getting results teach. Students actually have LESS hours of direct instruction and both students AND teachers spend more time collaborating with peers. However here in US for some reason more is ‘better’ and teaching has also become babysitting. If your child is disruptive in other countries it’s not as acceptable as it is here.

We don’t need to look abroad. You can look just about anywhere else in this country. Our students are outscored on proficiency tests by kids in Mississippi. DC schools are uniquely bad.

You are comparing an entire state to one city. I bet if you just looked at city-to-city comparisons only you will get a different picture.

I am not trying to say DC schools are fine...they aren't...but let's at least do apples-to-apples comparisons.

You think poorly funded schools in the middle of nowhere Mississippi have some unfair advantage over DC schools?

You can see how bad DC is here, per the New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/24/us/math-reading-scores-pandemic.html

Again, you provided state wide results…there are of course many well-funded suburban schools in every state including Mississippi, with high test scores.

The only fair comparison is urban school district vs urban school district.

To repeat…I don’t think DC schools are good but you can’t use just a city school district compared to an entire state for a true comparison.

Why not? Please explain. People compare DC to states all the time…

You really need this explained? It’s fair to compare DCPS which is just a city to all of Maryland and not Baltimore? It’s fair to compare DCPS to all of Michigan but not Detroit?

What other explanation do you need?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Schools are extremely well funded here and yet even the very best schools are only just fine (and the bad schools are so bad they look more like jobs programs for their employees than places for kids to learn).

Schools are decently funded, not well. Just because we spend a lot per pupil does not mean we are well funded. Salaries in general are higher here, this every teacher, social worker, music teacher, etc. costs more.

If you want better schools you should look at how the countries getting results teach. Students actually have LESS hours of direct instruction and both students AND teachers spend more time collaborating with peers. However here in US for some reason more is ‘better’ and teaching has also become babysitting. If your child is disruptive in other countries it’s not as acceptable as it is here.

We don’t need to look abroad. You can look just about anywhere else in this country. Our students are outscored on proficiency tests by kids in Mississippi. DC schools are uniquely bad.

You are comparing an entire state to one city. I bet if you just looked at city-to-city comparisons only you will get a different picture.

I am not trying to say DC schools are fine...they aren't...but let's at least do apples-to-apples comparisons.

You think poorly funded schools in the middle of nowhere Mississippi have some unfair advantage over DC schools?

You can see how bad DC is here, per the New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/24/us/math-reading-scores-pandemic.html

Again, you provided state wide results…there are of course many well-funded suburban schools in every state including Mississippi, with high test scores.

The only fair comparison is urban school district vs urban school district.

To repeat…I don’t think DC schools are good but you can’t use just a city school district compared to an entire state for a true comparison.

Why not? Please explain. People compare DC to states all the time…

You really need this explained? It’s fair to compare DCPS which is just a city to all of Maryland and not Baltimore? It’s fair to compare DCPS to all of Michigan but not Detroit?

What other explanation do you need?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Schools are extremely well funded here and yet even the very best schools are only just fine (and the bad schools are so bad they look more like jobs programs for their employees than places for kids to learn).

Schools are decently funded, not well. Just because we spend a lot per pupil does not mean we are well funded. Salaries in general are higher here, this every teacher, social worker, music teacher, etc. costs more.

If you want better schools you should look at how the countries getting results teach. Students actually have LESS hours of direct instruction and both students AND teachers spend more time collaborating with peers. However here in US for some reason more is ‘better’ and teaching has also become babysitting. If your child is disruptive in other countries it’s not as acceptable as it is here.

We don’t need to look abroad. You can look just about anywhere else in this country. Our students are outscored on proficiency tests by kids in Mississippi. DC schools are uniquely bad.

You are comparing an entire state to one city. I bet if you just looked at city-to-city comparisons only you will get a different picture.

I am not trying to say DC schools are fine...they aren't...but let's at least do apples-to-apples comparisons.

You think poorly funded schools in the middle of nowhere Mississippi have some unfair advantage over DC schools?

You can see how bad DC is here, per the New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/24/us/math-reading-scores-pandemic.html

Again, you provided state wide results…there are of course many well-funded suburban schools in every state including Mississippi, with high test scores.

The only fair comparison is urban school district vs urban school district.

To repeat…I don’t think DC schools are good but you can’t use just a city school district compared to an entire state for a true comparison.

Why not? Please explain. People compare DC to states all the time…

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our DC Spanish classes consist of watching videos with minimal teacher instruction. Perhaps not a legal issue per se but still unsettling to hear since Sept this year.

Screen time in class is out of control.

Instead of constantly reinventing the wheel, schools should go back to basics. Phones need to be banned in classrooms and screen time should be significantly reduced. Most assignments should be paper and pencil.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Schools are extremely well funded here and yet even the very best schools are only just fine (and the bad schools are so bad they look more like jobs programs for their employees than places for kids to learn).

Schools are decently funded, not well. Just because we spend a lot per pupil does not mean we are well funded. Salaries in general are higher here, this every teacher, social worker, music teacher, etc. costs more.

If you want better schools you should look at how the countries getting results teach. Students actually have LESS hours of direct instruction and both students AND teachers spend more time collaborating with peers. However here in US for some reason more is ‘better’ and teaching has also become babysitting. If your child is disruptive in other countries it’s not as acceptable as it is here.

We don’t need to look abroad. You can look just about anywhere else in this country. Our students are outscored on proficiency tests by kids in Mississippi. DC schools are uniquely bad.

You are comparing an entire state to one city. I bet if you just looked at city-to-city comparisons only you will get a different picture.

I am not trying to say DC schools are fine...they aren't...but let's at least do apples-to-apples comparisons.

You think poorly funded schools in the middle of nowhere Mississippi have some unfair advantage over DC schools?

You can see how bad DC is here, per the New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/24/us/math-reading-scores-pandemic.html

Again, you provided state wide results…there are of course many well-funded suburban schools in every state including Mississippi, with high test scores.

The only fair comparison is urban school district vs urban school district.

To repeat…I don’t think DC schools are good but you can’t use just a city school district compared to an entire state for a true comparison.