Frequently Asked Questions About MDRC's Study of New Small High Schools in New York City

MDRC:

On January 25, MDRC released the latest findings from its ongoing study of new, small, academically nonselective high schools in New York City, called "small schools of choice" (SSCs) by the researchers. The new brief reported that SSCs have:

• Sustained impacts on graduation with Regents diplomas: Average four-year graduation effects have reached 8.6 percentage points (meaning nearly nine more graduates for every class of 100 entering ninth-graders). This effect is driven by an increase in Regents diplomas attained.
• Positive graduation effects for virtually every subgroup, including students with low entering proficiency in math and English (levels 1 and 2, in New York City terminology), males and females, blacks and Hispanics, and students eligible for free and reduced-priced lunch.
• A positive effect on a measure of college readiness: a 7.6 percentage point (or 25 percent) impact on scoring 75 or higher on the English Regents exam (which exempts students from remedial English at the City University of New York). There was no effect on scoring 75 or higher on the math Regents exam.
• A five-year graduation effect: Students in the new small high schools are 7.1 percentage points more likely to graduate in five years than their control group counterparts (75.2 percent vs. 68.1 percent).

Posted by Jim Zellmer at February 11, 2012 1:02 AM
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