For the sake of conversation, I mapped Santa Rosa schools to look at their proficiency levels in English and math by location. The proficiency scores were recorded in the Smarter Balanced tests that replaced the old STAR tests. The results were released in September.

While test scores are by no means the only means to judge student achievement — and many would argue they aren’t the best method either — they are an important indicator, and can forecast opportunity in higher education, employment and income.

The maps show a clear leaning toward lower scores the further towards the west side of Santa Rosa one goes.

Please let me know your reactions.

To see an explanation of each map, click on the drawer icon with an arrow on the top left of each map. To see the scores at the school, click on the icon.