Broward County Public Schools was one of five school districts named as a finalist for the 2008 Broad Prize for Urban Education, an annual $1 million award that honors urban school districts across the country that are making the greatest progress in raising student achievement. The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation made the announcement.

The Broad Prize for Urban Education honors urban school districts that demonstrate the greatest overall performance and improvement in student achievement while reducing achievement gaps among ethnic groups and between high- and low- income students.

Other finalists for the award include Aldine Independent School District (TX), Brownsville Independent School District (TX), Long Beach Unified School District (CA) and Miami-Dade County Public Schools.

The winner of The Broad Foundation Prize, to be announced on Tuesday, October 14 at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, will receive $500,000 in scholarships for graduating seniors. Each of the four finalist districts will receive $125,000 in scholarships.

One commonality among this year’s finalists, all of which serve significant percentages of Hispanic students, is that Hispanic students in each district made notable gains on multiple indicators. For example, Hispanic students in all finalist districts both outperformed and showed greater improvement than their peers in similar districts in their respective states. In addition, all five made notable progress in narrowing achievement gaps between Hispanic students and their white peers.

This year, 100 of the largest urban school districts nationwide were eligible for The Broad Foundation Prize. The five finalist districts were selected by a review board of 19 prominent education researchers, policy leaders, practitioners and executives from leading universities, national education associations, think-tanks and foundations. The review board evaluated publicly available academic performance data compiled and analyzed by MPR Associates, Inc., a leading national education research consulting firm, and selected the five districts.

Among the reasons that Broward was chosen as a Broad Foundation Prize finalist:

In 2007:
Broward’s Hispanic and African-American students outperformed their peers in other Florida districts serving students with similar income levels, according to The Broad Foundation Prize methodology. Hispanic students outperformed their peers in reading and math at all grade levels (elementary, middle and high school). African-American students outperformed their peers in reading at all grade levels and in math in middle and high school.

Broward’s African-American and Hispanic students achieved higher average proficiency rates than the state average for those student groups in reading and math at all grade levels.

Between 2004 and 2007:
Broward showed greater improvement than similar Florida districts in math at all grade levels and in middle and high school reading, according to The Broad Foundation Prize methodology. In addition, Broward’s African-American students showed greater improvement than their peers in similar districts in reading and math at all levels.

Broward narrowed achievement gaps between Hispanic students and their white peers in reading and math at all grade levels and between African-American students and their white peers in math at all levels and in elementary and middle school reading.

Broward also narrowed achievement gaps between its low-income students and the state average for non-low-income students in math at all grade levels and in elementary and middle school reading.

SAT, ACT and Advanced Placement exam participation rates for African-American and Hispanic students rose.

Over the next two months, teams of educational researchers and practitioners led by SchoolWorks, an educational consulting company, will conduct site visits in each finalist district to gather qualitative information, interview district administrators, conduct focus groups with teachers and principals and observe classrooms. The teams will also talk to parents, community leaders, school board members and union representatives. A selection jury of prominent individuals from business, industry, education and public service will then review both the performance data and the qualitative site visit reports to choose the winning school district.

For more information about The Broad Foundation Prize, this year’s finalists and the review board, visit (www.broadprize.org).

The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation (www.broadfoundation.org) is a national venture philanthropy established by entrepreneur and philanthropist Eli Broad to advance entrepreneurship for the public good in education, science and the arts. The Broad Foundation’s education work is focused on dramatically improving urban K-12 public education through better governance, management, labor relations and competition.