Do New York City's New Small Schools Enroll Students with Different Characteristics from Other NYC Schools? Executive Summary. Education Policy for Action Series
Author: Jennings, Jennifer L.
Date: 2010-00-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: High Schools,Student Characteristics,Small Schools,Educational Policy,Enrollment,High School Students,Comparative Analysis,Socioeconomic Status,Gender Differences,Special Education,Reading Achievement,Mathematics Achievement,English (Second Language),Change Strategies,School Segregation,Improvement Programs,Program Effectiveness,Urban Schools,School Closing,Policy Analysis,Admission Criteria

In this study, the authors examined the demographic characteristics of students entering the new small high schools in New York City and contrasted them with the characteristics of students entering the large high schools that closed. They also determined whether these high school reforms altered how different types of students are distributed across schools. The authors examined a variety of characteristics of the students entering New York City high schools from 1999-2000 through 2008-2009: the percentage of entering students who were classified as proficient on the statewide eighth-grade English language arts assessment; the percentage of entering students who were classified as proficient on the statewide eighth-grade mathematics assessment; the average percentage of days in the semester prior to entering a high school that incoming students attended school; the percentage of entering students who were classified as over-age for their grade; the percentage of entering students who were male; the percentage of entering students who were eligible for free or reduced-price lunch; the percentage of entering students who were classified as English language learners (ELLs); the percentage of entering students who were classified as entitled to full-time special education services, based on the presence of a disability (available from 1999-2000 through 2005-2006); the percentage of entering students who were classified as entitled to part-time special education services (available from 1999-2000 through 2005-2006); and the percentage of entering students who were classified as entitled to full-time or part-time special education. The authors' results indicate that over the years 2002-2003 through 2008-2009, new small high schools enrolled students who were similar to students enrolled in other high schools in their boroughs on some of the criteria they examined but who differed in some important respects. They found strong evidence that the new small high schools on the campuses of the large comprehensive schools they replaced enrolled ninth-grade students who were much less disadvantaged than the students who were previously enrolled in the large comprehensive schools. They measured the amount of segregation of higher-achieving, male, free or reduced-price lunch, ELL, and special education eligible students by establishing what fraction of students in each group would need to switch schools to evenly distribute each type of student across schools. In 1999-2000 there was a moderate amount of segregation among students entering New York City high schools, with the greatest segregation observed for eighth-grade math and reading proficiency and the least segregation found for the distribution of male and female students across high schools, both for New York City overall and within each of the five boroughs. [For the full report, &quot;Do New York City's New Small Schools Enroll Students with Different Characteristics from Other NYC Schools? Education Policy for Action Series,&quot; see ED522165.]