City’s small high schools lift graduation rates, report concludes
The city’s small, non-selective high schools significantly boost disadvantaged student’s chances of graduating, a new report concludes.
The report (available in full below) is the latest in a series of studies from New York-based research firm MDRC and funded by the Gates Foundation, which put $150 million into the growth of small schools in the city. Replacing large, struggling high schools with small ones has been one of the centerpieces of Schools Chancellor Joel Klein’s reform efforts.
For the group of students researchers followed, the small schools had a nearly 69 percent graduation rate, compared to a roughly 62 percent rate for students in the study’s control group. Researchers reported that the positive impact of enrolling in a small school began during students’ freshman year and was sustained over the next three years. And, the study found, the benefits applied to a wide variety of students, including low-income students of color.
The study looked at the academic records of a subset of the small schools launched under Klein — about a hundred “small schools of choice.” The schools were chosen because more students applied to them than the school had room for, and thus admissions were determined by random lottery. Researchers could thus compare students who applied and enrolled in the small schools to those who applied but were assigned elsewhere.
The report (available in full below) is the latest in a series of studies from New York-based research firm MDRC and funded by the Gates Foundation, which put $150 million into the growth of small schools in the city. Replacing large, struggling high schools with small ones has been one of the centerpieces of Schools Chancellor Joel Klein’s reform efforts.
For the group of students researchers followed, the small schools had a nearly 69 percent graduation rate, compared to a roughly 62 percent rate for students in the study’s control group. Researchers reported that the positive impact of enrolling in a small school began during students’ freshman year and was sustained over the next three years. And, the study found, the benefits applied to a wide variety of students, including low-income students of color.
The study looked at the academic records of a subset of the small schools launched under Klein — about a hundred “small schools of choice.” The schools were chosen because more students applied to them than the school had room for, and thus admissions were determined by random lottery. Researchers could thus compare students who applied and enrolled in the small schools to those who applied but were assigned elsewhere.
Remainders: Harlem middle-schooler drowns on field trip
- A 12-year-old Harlem student drowned on a school field trip to the beach today. (City Room)
- Gov. Paterson said that he expects a state budget passed by next Monday. (Daily Politics)
- The Regents cut the state test program between $4 and $10 million, depending on the budget. (NYSED)
- Bloomberg, Mulgrew, Logan and Weingarten will lobby Congress tomorrow for the edujobs bill. (no link)
- Here’s a map of the 111 schools the city has closed since 2002. (GothamSchools)
- A teacher nominates the worst question on this month’s math Regents exams. (JD2718)
- Singer Mary J. Blige will speak at a small all-girls Bronx school graduating its first class. (City Room)
- Poor nutrition could be the link between tooth decay and childhood obesity, researchers say. (NPR)
- School meals lead to better grades but not better health, a new study says. (Inside School Research)
- A study of the D.C. vouchers program found mixed results. (Quick and the Ed)
- A principal wonders why the national reform agenda includes many unproven strategies. (Answer Sheet)
- A group of church leaders is also calling Obama’s reform movement into question. (Dewey 21C)
