Many did not know how to use periods, commas, capital letters or other basic grammar that most fifth graders are expected to know, Ms. Moore said. In literature, they could not identify similarities and differences in themes from book to book, she said. In mathematics, most had to use calculators or beads to solve multiplication problems in the hundreds, a skill that is a city standard for fifth graders, she said. But because there was so much instability at school and home, no one caught it, and they have been promoted and promoted. Student mobility is driven mostly by issues unrelated to school.
Some students move because their parents fall behind in rent and are evicted.
Other families live in homeless shelters, or doubled up with relatives in cramped quarters or in single illegal rooms in ramshackle buildings. When parents find permanent housing, they move their children again, sometimes miles away, too far for them to stay in the same school. Still other children are in foster care and may move as their guardians change. Immigrants will sometimes live with relatives for a short time before finding more permanent housing. This little person who cannot fend for himself or herself has to come into a brand new environment and gets used to brand new adults and children.