title: The Causal Effect of Student Mobility on Standardized Test Performance: A Case Study with Possible Implications for Accountability Mandates within the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.
abstract: This paper presents a limited case study examining the causal inference of student mobility on standardized test performance, within one middle-class high school in suburban Connecticut. Administrative data were used from a district public high school enrolling 319 10th graders in 2010. Propensity score methods were used to estimate the causal effect of student mobility on Math, Science, Reading, and Writing portions of the Connecticut Academic Performance Test (CAPT), after matching mobile vs. stable students on gender, race/ethnicity, eligibility for free/reduced lunches, and special education status. Analyses showed that mobility was associated with lower performance in the CAPT Writing exam. Follow-up analyses revealed that this trend was only significant among those who were ineligible for free/reduced lunches, but not among eligible students. Additionally, mobile students who were ineligible for free/reduced lunches had lower performance in the CAPT Science exam according to some analyses. Large numbers of students transferring into a school district may adversely affect standardized test performance. This is especially relevant for policies that affect student mobility in schools, given the accountability measures in the No Child Left Behind that are currently being re-considered in the recent Every Student Succeeds Act.
authors.affiliation: Department of Population Health, University of North DakotaGrand Forks, ND, USA; Department of Psychology, Wesleyan UniversityMiddletown, CT, USA.
authors.forename: Arielle S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Selya
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Wesleyan University Middletown, CT, USA.
authors.forename: Eden
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Engel-Rebitzer
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Wesleyan University Middletown, CT, USA.
authors.forename: Lisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Dierker
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Wesleyan University Middletown, CT, USA.
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Stephen
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Wesleyan University Middletown, CT, USA.
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rose
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, College of Public Health, Temple University Philadelphia, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Donna L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Coffman
authors.affiliation: Department of Pupil Services and Special Education, Middletown Public Schools Middletown, CT, USA.
authors.forename: Mindy
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Otis
keywords: academic performance; elementary and secondary education act; every student succeeds act; high school; no child left behind; propensity score methods; standardized tests; student mobility