Two weeks ago, an ongoing study tracking the performance of high school students in New York City released its results, showing students who attend smaller schools are more likely to graduate. According to the study, funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, there is a discrepancy of more than eight percent in graduation rates between schools with fewer than 100 students per grade and larger schools. This disparity is consistent across races, socio-economic statuses, and eighth-grade reading and math scores.
While this small-school philosophy is reflected in many D.C. charter schools, which emphasize smaller class sizes and low teacher/student ratios, this is not the case for the D.C. Public Schools system. On the contrary, DCPS has been moving in the opposite direction. One of ex-Chancellor Michelle Rhee’s reforms included shutting down 23 under-performing middle schools in 2008. The District’s solution for the resulting lack of seats was to replace the middle schools with expanded elementary institutions, forming mega-schools that span pre-school to eighth grade.
Though Rhee’s efforts stemmed the flow of students out of DCPS by expanding high-performing schools, this study indicates the move likely impacts the quality of education. Larger schools increase the likelihood struggling students will fall through the cracks. By contrast, smaller schools provide better peer and faculty support and, as a result, a generally more successful education for all students.
What’s more, Rhee’s justification of her school consolidation policy was based largely on standardized test scores, reflecting a nation-wide practice of assessing teacher, principal, student, and school performance. While these scores are useful in specific areas, many education experts decry their use in measuring overall school quality, for they overlook many outside factors. Test scores in D.C. have also come under special scrutiny lately through reports of cheating scandals across the District. In any case, graduation statistics are a more holistic measure of school quality—especially for struggling institutions—and they suggest that DCPS should be looking for more and smaller schools, not fewer bigger ones.
Fixing the schools in D.C. involves a massive financial committment. The solution requires investing more in subpar schools, maintaining the small-school atmosphere, hiring more teachers, and improving each institution’s facilities and resources. This would not only improve schooling, but counteract student flight from poor to wealthy districts, thus breaking a cycle that decreases funding for underprivileged students. Instead, the District has decided to sidestep effective reform and consolidate schools, a cheaper but less effective way to approach the educational quality problem. This refusal is a travesty, and reflects a wider, national trend of undervaluing the importance of education.
