Does Boarding Benefit Primary and Middle School Student Mathematics Achievement? A Propensity Score Analysis

• In Event: Understanding the Influence of Campus Typologies, Structures, and Organization on School Effectiveness

Abstract

There is an increasing interest of policies and projects to adapt boarding schools as a mean to provide quality education for those educationally disadvantaged students. But little evidence is available for the effectiveness of boarding schools. The current study examined the boarding status effect on primary and middle school student mathematics achievement using propensity score matching approach. The boarding status showed a significantly negative effect on the fourth-grade student mathematics achievement, but a significantly positive effect on the eighth-grade student achievement. The mechanisms through which boarding status brought the effects on boarders’ achievement were also explored with a focus on the effects of contact with families and the environment in the boarding schools.

Authors

• Siwen Guo, Michigan State University

• Lingyan Li, Beijing Normal University

• Yan Sun, Rutgers University - New Brunswick/Piscataway

• William H. Schmidt, Michigan State University