ED466314 - Student Mobility and Academic Achievement. ERIC Digest - ERIC-ED466314 | Content Details

ED466314 - Student Mobility and Academic Achievement. ERIC Digest

Source Institution: ERIC Clearinghouse on Elementary and Early Childhood Education, Champaign, IL

Sponsoring Agency: Office of Educational Research and Improvement (ED), Washington, DC

Subject: Academic Achievement, Administrator Role, Elementary School Students, Elementary Secondary Education, Family Environment, Family Mobility, Performance Factors, Prevention, Research Methodology, School Role, Secondary School Students, Student Mobility

Abstract: Student mobility--studentsmoving from one school to another for reasons other than being promoted to the next school level-is widespread in the United States. This digest examines the research on the academic consequences of mobility for elementary school students and discusses what schools and parents can do to mitigate the possible negative effects of changing schools. The digest notes that studies that do not control for the background characteristics of students consistently find that mobile students have lower achievement on average than non-mobile or stable students. Studies that do account for background differences, however, find that mobility may be more of a symptom than a cause of poor school performance. Other studies noted indicate that only frequent moves-three or more-predicted grade retention, and that mobility during elementary school as well as during high school diminishes the prospects for graduation. The digest then offers suggestions for helping to reduce unnecessary mobility and to mitigate its harmful effects at the district, school, and parent/student level. The digest concludes by noting that although a substantial body of research suggests that students may be affected psychologically, socially, and academically from changing schools, the impact of mobility depends on such factors as the number of school changes, when they occur, the reason for the changes, and the student's personal and family situation. (Contains 15 references.).