CRESST Conference--September 16, Student Mobility and the Assessment of Students and Schools Russell W. Rumberger University of California, Santa Barbara

CRESST Conference--September 16, Outline of Presentation 1.Incidence of mobility among students and schools 2.Causes of student mobility 3.Consequences of mobility for students and schools 4.Implications for assessment of students and schools

CRESST Conference--September 16, What is Student Mobility? n At the student level, student mobility represents non-promotional transfers from one school to another n At the school level, student turnover represents all students who transfer out or drop out of school

CRESST Conference--September 16, Sources of Data n California study of student mobility based on quantitative and qualitative data (Rumberger et al., 1999) n Two related national studies based on same large-scale national data sets--NELS and HSES (Rumberger and Larson, 1998; Rumberger and Thomas, 1995) n Other national, state, and local studies of student mobility (e.g., Kerbow, 1996; Swanson and Schneider, 1999; Texas Education Agency, 1997)

CRESST Conference--September 16, Incidence Student mobility is widespread in the United States

CRESST Conference--September 16, Incidence Long-term incidence of mobility even higher SOURCE: Rumberger, et al. (1999).

CRESST Conference--September 16, Incidence Student turnover varies widely among schools Percent SOURCE: Rumberger, et al. (1999).

CRESST Conference--September 16, Causes Student mobility initiated by families, students, and schools SOURCE: Rumberger, et al. (1999).

CRESST Conference--September 16, Causes Student turnover rates of high schools explained by characteristics of students and schools SOURCE: Rumberger and Thomas (1995).

CRESST Conference--September 16, Consequences Students who change high schools are much less likely to graduate SOURCE: Rumberger, et al. (1999).

CRESST Conference--September 16, Consequences Students who change schools have lower test scores SOURCE: 1998 NAEP.

CRESST Conference--September 16, Consequences School average turnover rates impact test scores of both stable and mobile students Estimated Effects of School Turnover Rates on Math Scores for Stable and Mobile Students, California HSES High Schools (N=51) SOURCE: Rumberger, et al. (1999).

CRESST Conference--September 16, Implications For assessing students n Mobile students may be more difficult to test n More difficult to assess the achievement growth of mobile students over time

CRESST Conference--September 16, Implications For assessing schools n Schools with high student turnover have a harder time providing a good learning environment for all students n Current policies on school assessment typically exclude mobile students in assessment of school performance n Unless schools are given incentives to retain students, high rates of mobility likely to remain

CRESST Conference--September 16, References n Kerbow, D. (1996). Pervasive Student Mobility A Moving Target for School Reform. Chicago Chicago Panel on School Policy. n Rumberger, R. W., Larson, K. A., Ream, R. K., & Palardy, G. A. (1999). The Educational Consequences of Mobility for California Students and Schools. Berkeley, CA Policy Analysis for California Education [available from: n Rumberger, R.W. & Larson, K.A. (1998). Student mobility and the increased risk of high school drop out. American Journal of Education, 107,1-35. Rumberger, R. W., & Thomas, S. L. (1995). The Distribution of Dropout and Attrition Rates Among U.S. High Schools. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, San Francisco, April n Swanson, C.B. & Schneider, B. (1999). Students on the move: Residential and educational mobility in America's schools. Sociology of Education, 72, n Texas Education Agency. (1997). A Study of Student Mobility in Texas Public Schools. Austin: Texas Education Agency. n U.S., National Center for Education Statistics. (1999). National Assessment of Educational Progress. Washington, D.C.: NCES. [available from: