– Findings suggest that a student’s elementary SES composition has a legacy effect on middle school achievement growth net of his
or her own achievement growth and middle school SES composition.
– SES composition effects differ depending on the timing of exposure and a student’s individual free and reduced lunch (FRL) status.
– Findings suggest that early education contexts are critical for math achievement growth in general.
– The authors’ findings show that school segregation by socioeconomic status is problematic for achievement growth for
all students.
– Disadvantages from the elementary school context carry over to the middle school context, and the SES composition effect of students’ middle school depends on students’ prior school experiences.
2018 - How School Socioeconomic Status Affects Achievement Growth across School Transitions in Early Educational Careers
Langenkamp, Amy G. & Carbonaro, William
Researchers: Amy G. LangenkampWilliam Carbonaro
University Affiliation: Notre Dame University
Email: alangenk@nd.edu
Research Question:
- How does changing socioeconomic status (SES) composition affect students’ math achievement growth after the transition to middle school?
- Hypothesis 1: Elementary school percentage FRL will have a weaker negative effect on achievement growth than middle school percentage FRL.
- Hypothesis 2: The effect of school SES composition will differ depending on students’ own FRL status.
- Hypothesis 3: Elementary school SES composition will affect student achievement in middle school net of the SES composition of the middle school
Published: Yes
Journal Name or Institutional Affiliation: Sociology of Education
Journal Entry: 91(4), 358-378
Year: 2018
Findings:
Data Description:
The authors draw on life course theory concepts of transitions and cumulative advantage to better understand how the school context of a student’s elementary school may create a legacy of educational experiences that follow him or her as they transition to a new school.
– The authors use administrative panel data from Indiana public schools for a cohort of students who began third grade in 2009 and were retested each year through 2014.
Ivs: Elementary and middle school SES composition
Dvs: Math achievement growth
Theoretical Framework:
Relevance:K-12 Diversity
Archives: K-12 Integration, Desegregation, and Segregation Abstracts