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Exploring Educational Inequities

Understanding how funding disparities influence student outcomes in Tacoma Public Schools.

Project Snapshot

Duration

10 Weeks

Role

UX Researcher & Data Analyst

Contributions

Research Planning • Statistical Analysis • Data Visualization • Qualitative Interviews

Tools

Python • Plotly • Pandas • Excel

Introduction

Why This Project?

Growing up on Tacoma's east side, I experienced firsthand how educational opportunities varied across neighborhoods. Differences in facilities, extracurricular activities, and academic resources sparked my curiosity about whether these disparities extended beyond personal experience.

For this project, I investigated how differences in educational funding relate to student outcomes across Tacoma Public Schools by combining quantitative data analysis with qualitative research. My goal was not only to identify patterns, but also to better understand how funding inequities may shape students' educational experiences.

How do funding disparities across Tacoma Public Schools influence educational opportunities and student outcomes?

To answer this, I explored three areas:

  • How funding differs across Tacoma high schools

  • Whether funding correlates with academic outcomes

  • Which disparities students experience most directly

These questions were adapted from the original research plan.

  • Collected publicly available datasets from Tacoma Open Data and Tacoma Public Schools to compare education equity with graduation rates, standardized testing performance, and post-secondary enrollment.

  • Using Python, I got to:

    • cleaned datasets

    • merged multiple data sources

    • performed t-tests

    • explored correlations

    • visualized trends using Plotly

    The goal was to identify statistically meaningful relationships between educational equity and student outcomes

  • To complement the numerical analysis, I interviewed a former Tacoma Public Schools student and analyzed discussions from the Tacoma Reddit community to understand how disparities were experienced firsthand.

  • I combined statistical evidence with qualitative findings to identify recurring themes surrounding educational equity.

Research Question

Research Approach