students mobility

STUDENT MOBILITY AND ITS EFFECTS ON STUDENT
ACHIEVEMENT:
A Preliminary Study Prepared for the Leaders Roundtable

June, 1999
For additional copies of this report contact:
Maxine Thompson
The Leaders Roundtable
221 NW 2nd Avenue
Portland, OR 97209
[phone] fax [phone] [e-mail] (report may be freely copied)

Written by: Karry Gillespie, Center for Community Research
Robert B. Everhart, Graduate School of Education, Portland State University with the assistance of Charles McNulty, Graduate Assistant in the School of Education, PSU
The Center for Community Research
10 N. Russell St.
Portland, OR 97227-1619

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

STUDENT MOBILITY AND ITS EFFECTS ON
STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT:
A Preliminary Study Prepared for the Leaders Roundtable

June, 1999
Executive Summary
Introduction
This study was initiated by the Leaders Roundtable which asked the Center for Community
Research and The Graduate School of Education at Portland State University to look at the effects of mobility on student achievement. The study was conducted through a tripartite effort that contains a literature review, a series of focus groups, and a best practices piece.
Literature Review
It is a well-known fact that residential mobility is common in the United States. During the
1980s between sixteen and twenty percent of the population changed residence. The literature review for this study includes information on four major areas.
1. Who is most likely to move? The research evidence suggests a profile for those individuals who have high rates of residential mobility tend to be families who are low-income, urban or rural poor, renters, non-married (divorced or never married), and prone to make multiple moves in one year.
2. Much of the research done on mobility and its impact upon children and school functioning suggests that students who are highly mobile are more likely to experience academic, social, emotional problems

References: Alexander, K. L., Entwisle, D. R., & Dauber, S. L. (1996). Children in motion: School transfers and elementary school performance Benson, P., Haycraft, J. L. Steyaert, J.P., & Weigel, K. J. (1979). Mobility in sixth graders as related to achievement, adjustment, and socioeconomic status Bracy, G. W. (1995). Worst possible spin syndrome. Phi Delta Kappan, v76, n6, 476477. Brown, D. & Wardwell, J. W. (Eds.), (1981). New directions in urban-rural migration. Calabrese, R. L. (1989). The effects of mobility on adolescent alienation. The High School Journal, 72, 41-46. Cohen, P., Johnson, J., Stuening, E. L., & Brook, J. S., (1989). Family mobility as a risk for childhood psychopathology Coleman, J. S. (1988). Social capital in the creation of human capital. American Journal of Sociology, 94, 113. Cromartie, J. B. (1993). Leaving the countryside: Young adults follow complex migration pattern Driscoll, M. E. (1993). Choice, achievement and school community. In E Eckenrode, J., Rowe, E., Laird, M., & Brathwaite, J. (1995). Mobility as a mediator of the effects of child maltreatment of academic performance Ellickson, P. L., Bianca, D., & Schoeff, D. C. (1988). Containing attrition in school-based research: An innovative approach Fetler, M. (1989). School dropout rates, academic performance, size and poverty: Correlates of educational reform Fuguitt, G. V. & Brown, D. L. (1990). Residential preferences and population redistribution 1972-1988 Gabarino, J. (1987). The human ecology of early risk. In S. Meisels & J. Shonkoff (Eds.), Handbook of early intervention General Accounting Office. (1994). Elementary school children: Many change schools frequently, harming their education Goodlad, J. I. (1984). A place called school: Prospects for the future. New York: McGraw Hill. Hansen, K. A. (1995). Geographical mobility: March 1993 to March 1994: Current population reports (series P-20, No Ingersoll, G. M., Scamman, J. P., & Eckerling, W. D. (1989). Geographic mobility and student achievement in an urban setting Jalongo, M. R. (1995). Helping children to cope with relocation. Childhood Education, 71, 80-85. Johnson, K. (1989). Recent population redistribution trends in nonmetropolitan America. Keats, D. B., Crabbs, M. A., & Crabbs, S. K. (1981). Facilitating the adjustment process of new students Kusel, J. (1991). Well-being in forest-dependent communities (vol. 2). Berkeley, CA: University of California Department of Forestry and Resource Management. Larrick, N. (1992). Reflections on children and books. In D. Burleson (Ed.), Reflections: Personal essays by 33 distinguished educators (pp Lash, A. A., & Kirkpatrick, S. L. (1990). A classroom perspective on student mobility. Nord, M. (1994). Keeping the poor in their place: The proximate process that maintain spatial concentration of poverty in the United States Plank, S., Schiller, K., Schneider, B., & Coleman, J. (1993). Effects of choice in education. In E. M. Rasell & R. Rothstein (Eds.) School choice: Examining the evidence (pp. 112134). Washington DC: Economic Policy Institute. Plunkett, V. (1997). Parents and schools: Partnerships that count. Journal of Education for Students Placed at Risk, 2 (n4), 325-327. Putman, R. (1995). Bowling alone: America’s declining social capital. Journal of Democracy, 6, Jan, 65-78. Rossi, P. H. & Shlay, A. B. (1982). Residential mobility and public policy issues: Why families move’ revisited Rumberger, R. W. & Larson, K. A. (1998). Student mobility and the increased risk of high school dropout Simoni, J. M. (1993). Latino mothers’ help seeking at a school-based mutual support group Sloan,V. J., Jason, L. A., & Bogat, G. A. (1984). A comparison of orientation methods for elementary school transfer students Swanson, C. B. & Schneider, B. (1999). Students on the move: Residential and educational mobility in America’s Schools Voss, P. R. & Fuguitt, G. V. (1991). The impact of migration on southern rural areas of chronic depression U.S. Bureau of the Census. (1992). Geographic mobility. Washington DC: U. S. Vail, K. (1996), Learning on the move. The American School Board Journal, Dec., 20-26. Williams, D. (1996). Kids, schools, suffer from the revolving door. American Educator, Spring, 36-40.