Transitioning: School Mobility and the Academic Achievement Growth of Early Elementary Students

• In Event: 207 - Section on Sociology of Education Roundtable Session (one-hour).
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 15. Elementary Education

Abstract

This paper focuses on the relationship between school mobility, the type of schools a student attends, the level of social capital in a student’s family, school, and community, and academic achievement growth. We live in a mobile society, with many people moving locales and jobs multiple times throughout their life course. Students are no exception to this trend. Approximately half of elementary students transfer schools during their elementary careers, and nearly 20% of elementary students transfer within a given year. But a significant question remains, what are the consequences of these changes on a young student’s academic performance? We assess the academic achievement growth of mobile and non-mobile kindergarten and 3rd grade students using longitudinal data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (ECLS-K). The results of the analyses suggest that the patterns that have held for older students do not necessarily maintain for younger ones, and that there is much to be learned about the educational achievement of young children.

Authors

• Jennifer Lynn Triplett, Clemson University

• Pamela Ray Koch, Hope College

• Shannon Marie McDonough, University of South Carolina