Student Mobility Patterns and
Achievement in Wisconsin
Prepared for the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction
Selina Eadie
Ryan Eisner
Bryan Miller
Leni Wolf
Monday, May 13, 2013
Overview of Presentation
● Overview of Previous Findings
● Methodology of Analysis
● Description of Mobility in Wisconsin
● Association Between Mobility and Achievement
● Policy Implications and Ideas for Future Research
Research Questions
● What is the state of student mobility in WI?
● What is mobility’s association with achievement?
Previous Findings
● Moves associated with lower academic performance
● Different mobility rates for different groups of students
● Timing matters (both time of year and time of
academic career)
● Inter- versus intra-district moves
Methodology
● First research using Wisconsin Student Number Locator
System (WSLS)
● Created a cohort of students for analysis
● Start: September 15, 2006
● End: May 1, 2011
● Students in Cohort: 319,230
Mobility Rates by Ethnicity (2006-07 through 2010-11)
All Cohort
White
Asian-Americn
Native American
Hispanic
Black
0%
10%
20%
30%
Number of moves
40%
50%
60%
Percentage of Students
0
1
2
3
70%
80%
4
5+
90%
100%
Mobility Rates by Economic Status (2006-07 through 2010-11)
90%
80%
Percentage of Students
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Ever Economically Disadvantaged
Did not Move
Moved Once
Never Economically Disadvantaged
Moved 2+ Times
Mobility Rates by Homeless Status (2006-07 through 2010-11)
70%
60%
Percentage of Students
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Ever ID'd as Homeless
Did Not Move
Never ID'd as Homeless
Moved Once
Moved 2+ Times
Moves by Time of Year (2006-07 through 2010-11)
School Year
17%
Winter Break
7%
Summer
Break
76%
Moves in the Five Largest Districts (2006-07 through 2010-11)
80%
70%
Percentage of Students
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Milwaukee
Madison
Did not Move
Kenosha
Moved Once
Green Bay
Racine
Moved 2+ Times
Statewide
Top Receiving Districts of Milwaukee Public Schools Students
2008-09
(n=2,875)
2009-10
(n=3,157)
West Allis–West Milwaukee 9.0%
Wauwatosa
9.1%
Wisconsin Department of
Corrections
7.3%
West Allis–West Milwaukee
7.4%
Franklin Public
6.8%
Franklin Public
6.2%
Wauwatosa
4.8%
Wisconsin Department of
Corrections
5.3%
Academy of Learning and
Leadership a
4.1%
Bruce Guadalupe a
4.6%
a Denotes
public, non-MPS charter school
Mobility and 2010-11 Graduation Status
90%
80%
Percentage of Students
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Did not Graduate
Zero moves
Graduated
1 to 3 moves
4+ moves
Reading and Math WKCE Scores for 10th
Graders in 2010-11
580
565
560
556
542
Test Score
540
532
520
500
480
460
Mean Reading Score
Zero Moves in 2009-10
Moved in 2009-10
Mean Math Score
Proficienct
Basic
Reading and Math WKCE Scores for 10th
Graders in 2010-11
600
569
580
Test Score
560
546
540
563
539
513
520
500
478
480
460
440
Mean Reading Score
Zero Moves Prior to 2010
1-3 Moves Prior to 2010
Proficient
Basic
Mean Math Score
4+ Moves Prior to 2010
Regression Confirmation
● Ran an OLS regression to test these relationships
● Controlled for:
● Race, Economic Status, Homelessness, District, Ever received English
Language Learner (ELL) services
Includes fixed effects for district
● Findings
● Coefficients on moves consistently negative and significant at .01 level
● Coefficients on other variables consistently of greater magnitude
Summary of Findings
● Black and Hispanic students appear to move much more
frequently than their White and Asian-American peers
● Students who qualify for free or reduced-priced lunch move
more than full-price students
● Students in largest districts are more likely to move than the
state average
● Especially Milwaukee
● Consistent relationship between mobility and achievement
Future Research Considerations
● Detect residential moves
● Moves by time in academic career
● Type of destination school
● Prior year test score controls
Policy Implications
● Information and record-keeping systems
● Funding mechanisms and sources
● Implications for school choice policies
Acknowledgements
● Jared Knowles, Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction
● Russell Dimond, University of Wisconsin-Madison
● Jed Richardson, Wisconsin Center for Education Research
● Professor Andrew Reschovsky, University of WisconsinMadison
Thank you!
Questions?
Reading Regression Results
Moves before
October 2010
4+ Moves before
October 2010
Moves in 2009-10
School Year
2+ Moves in 200910 School Year
Asian
Black
Hispanic
Native American
Ever FRPL
Ever Homeless
Ever Received ELL
Services
Constant
No. of Students
R-squared
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
Tenth
Tenth
Tenth
Tenth
Grade
Grade
Grade
Grade
Reading
Reading
Reading
Reading
(2010-11) (2010-11) (2010-11) (2010-11)
-6.09*** -5.18***
(0.31)
(0.38)
-10.22***
(2.40)
-4.93*** -3.33***
(0.58)
(0.65)
-15.70***
(2.81)
7.46***
7.40***
7.86***
7.79***
(1.61)
(1.61)
(1.61)
(1.61)
-28.47*** -28.36*** -30.20*** -30.00***
(1.19)
(1.19)
(1.19)
(1.19)
-3.47*** -3.57***
-3.10**
-3.05**
(1.33)
(1.33)
(1.34)
(1.34)
-16.94*** -16.81*** -18.07*** -18.00***
(2.39)
(2.39)
(2.40)
(2.40)
-27.21*** -27.21*** -28.72*** -28.58***
(0.61)
(0.61)
(0.61)
(0.61)
-9.97*** -9.58*** -14.36*** -13.94***
(2.82)
(2.82)
(2.83)
(2.83)
-32.78*** -32.82*** -32.45*** -32.60***
(1.54)
(1.54)
(1.55)
(1.55)
561.90*** 561.20*** 557.80*** 557.50***
(0.45)
(0.48)
(0.38)
(0.39)
41,661
41,661
41,460
41,460
0.12
0.12
0.11
0.11
Source: Authors' calculations from DPI data
Math Regression Results
Moves before
October 2010
4+ Moves before
October 2010
Moves in 2009-10
School Year
2+ Moves in 200910 School Year
Asian
Black
Hispanic
Native American
Ever FRPL
Ever Homeless
Ever Received ELL
Services
Constant
No. of Students
R-squared
(5)
(6)
(7)
(8)
Tenth
Tenth
Tenth
Tenth
Grade
Grade
Grade
Grade
Math
Math
Math
Math
(2010-11) (2010-11) (2010-11) (2010-11)
-4.66*** -4.20***
(0.24)
(0.29)
-5.23***
(1.82)
-3.99***
-2.80***
(0.44)
(0.49)
-11.64***
(2.13)
11.58***
11.55***
11.92***
11.87***
(1.21)
(1.21)
(1.22)
(1.22)
-28.20*** -28.14*** -29.59*** -29.44***
(0.90)
(0.90)
(0.90)
(0.90)
-6.25***
-6.30***
-6.09***
-6.05***
(1.01)
(1.01)
(1.01)
(1.01)
-17.37*** -17.30*** -18.20*** -18.15***
(1.81)
(1.81)
(1.82)
(1.82)
-22.34*** -22.34*** -23.47*** -23.36***
(0.46)
(0.46)
(0.46)
(0.46)
-11.79*** -11.58*** -15.02*** -14.71***
(2.13)
(2.13)
(2.14)
(2.14)
-21.62*** -21.64*** -21.43*** -21.54***
(1.16)
(1.16)
(1.17)
(1.17)
581.30*** 580.90*** 578.30*** 578.10***
(0.34)
(0.36)
(0.29)
(0.29)
41,650
41,650
41,449
41,449
0.14
0.14
0.13
0.13
Source: Authors' calculations from DPI data
WSLS Population
(2005-2011)
Primary Cohort
Cohort 2
Race
Asian
Black
Hispanic
Native American
White
Total Students
3.7%
10.8%
8.1%
1.4%
68.6%
1,176,136
3.6%
10.8%
8.2%
1.4%
73.1%
319,230
3.7%
10.1%
8.1%
1.5%
76.2%
683,148
99.0%
1.0%
1,176,136
98.7%
1.3%
319,230
99.3%
0.7%
683,148
56.2%
43.8%
1,176,136
50.4%
49.6%
319,230
60.0%
40.0%
683,148
51.2%
48.8%
1,088,403
51.5%
48.5%
310,189
51.5%
48.5%
679,303
94.8%
5.2%
1,054,024
94.1%
5.9%
310,189
94.3%
5.7%
679,303
11.6%
3.1%
2.5%
2.9%
3.1%
9.9%
4.3%
2.7%
4.0%
2.9%
9.0%
2.9%
2.5%
2.7%
2.9%
Ever Homeless?
No
Yes
Total Students
Ever Economically Disadvantaged?
No
Yes
Total Students
Gender
Male
Female
Total Students
English Language Proficient
Yes
No
Total Students
District of Majority Attendance
Milwaukee
Kenosha
Racine
Green Bay
Madison
Top Receiving Districts from Madison Metropolitan School District
2006-07
2007-08
2008-09
2009-10
2010-11
(n=583)
(n=887)
(n=906)
(n=889)
(n=990)
Middleton – Cross
Plains Area
12.5% Sun Prairie Area
8.1% Sun Prairie Area
11.6% Verona Area
12.9% Sun Prairie Area
13.8%
Verona Area
Middleton –
11.7% Cross Plains
Area
7.9% Verona Area
11.2% Sun Prairie Area
11.1% Verona Area
11.4%
Sun Prairie Area
10.3% Verona Area
Middleton –
7.3% Cross Plains
Area
Middleton –
7.5% Cross Plains
Area
Middleton –
6.4% Cross Plains
Area
11.0%
4.3% Milwaukee
6.9%
Milwaukee
7.0% Monona Grove
3.9% Milwaukee
6.5% Monona Grove
Janesville
4.6% Oregon
3.8% Monona Grove
6.4%
McFarland
4.1%
Milwaukee
4.1%
Oregon
3.9%
Source: Authors' calculations from DPI data
Top Receiving Districts from Green Bay Area School District
2006-07
2007-08
2008-09
2009-10
2010-11
(n=735)
(n=869)
(n=825)
(n=861)
(n=990)
Howard - Suamico
10.8%
Howard Suamico
12.1%
Howard Suamico
10.7% Ashwaubenon
9.5% Ashwaubenon
10.1%
Milwaukee
8.0% Ashwaubenon
8.6% Milwaukee
9.1% Milwaukee
De Pere
6.8% Milwaukee
7.1% Ashwaubenon
7.5%
Ashwaubenon
6.5% De Pere
6.7% De Pere
6.6% De Pere
8.0%
Howard –
Suamico
9.0%
Pulaski Community
4.8% West De Pere
5.5% West De Pere
5.8% West De Pere
5.5% West De Pere
4.3%
Howard –
Suamico
9.3% Milwaukee
9.8%
9.2% De Pere
9.6%
Source: Authors' calculations from DPI data
Top Receiving Districts from Racine Unified School District
2006-07
2007-08
2008-09
2009-10
2010-11
(n=421)
(n=565)
(n=557)
(n=546)
(n=675)
Kenosha Unified
23.8% Kenosha Unified
18.4% Kenosha Unified
18.1% Kenosha Unified
22.3% Kenosha Unified
26.8%
Milwaukee
22.3% Milwaukee
17.7% Milwaukee
15.6% Milwaukee
12.8% Milwaukee
16.3%
21st Century Prep
School*
3.6%
WI Dept. of
Corrections
7.3%
21st Century
Prep School*
5.6%
Union Grove J1
2.9%
21st Century
Prep School
4.8%
WI Dept. of
Corrections
5.4% Waukesha
Burlington Area
2.3%
WI Dept. of
Corrections
2.9%
Burlington Area
Oak Creek –
Franklin Joint
2.3%
Waukesha
2.3%
3.2%
Green Bay Area
Public
4.2%
21st Century
Prep School*
3.9% Waukesha
21st Century
Prep School
3.7%
WI Dept. of
Corrections
3.6%
3.1%
3.0%
Source: Authors' calculations from DPI data
Top Receiving Districts from Kenosha Unified School District
2006-07
2007-08
2008-09
2009-10
2010-11
(n=393)
(n=508)
(n=434)
(n=493)
(n=465)
Racine Unified
33.1% Racine Unified
Milwaukee
7.9% Milwaukee
Madison
Metropolitan
2.8%
Waukesha
2.8%
White Lake
2.8% WI Dept. of
31.3% Racine Unified
32.3% Racine Unified
33.8%
7.5% Milwaukee
9.9% Milwaukee
10.8% Milwaukee
8.8%
4.1% Burlington Area
4.6% West Bend
4.5% West Bend
7.3%
Burlington Area
3.2% Salem
3.9% Green Bay Public
2.2% Salem
3.4%
Waukesha
3.2%
2.2% Burlington Area
2.8%
Corrections
WI Dept. of
Corrections
32.7% Racine Unified
2.8%
WI Dept. of
Corrections
3.5%
WI Dept. of
Corrections
Source: Authors' calculations from DPI data