Small Schools: Tackling the Dropout Crisis

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New Mexico Teachers Chatboard

Small Schools: Tackling the Dropout Crisis

by Think New Mexico

Dec 1, 2008

New Mexico's graduation rate ranks second from the bottom of the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Only 54.1% of New Mexico's children graduate from high school, compared with a national average of 70.6%. An average of 77 students drop out each school day across New Mexico - nearly 14,000 per year.

Decades of research have shown that smaller schools have higher graduation rates, higher student achievement, lower levels of student alienation and violence, and higher levels of satisfaction among students, parents, principals, and teachers. Small schools also dramatically improve the performance of low-income children, which helps to narrow the persistent achievement gap.

The most effective high school size, according to the research, is 600-900 students. Yet, in 2007, more than two- thirds of New Mexico ninth graders entered high schools with populations larger than 1,000 students, and nearly a third entered high schools with more than 2,000 students.

Sma...See MoreNew Mexico's graduation rate ranks second from the bottom of the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Only 54.1% of New Mexico's children graduate from high school, compared with a national average of 70.6%. An average of 77 students drop out each school day across New Mexico - nearly 14,000 per year.

Decades of research have shown that smaller schools have higher graduation rates, higher student achievement, lower levels of student alienation and violence, and higher levels of satisfaction among students, parents, principals, and teachers. Small schools also dramatically improve the performance of low-income children, which helps to narrow the persistent achievement gap.

The most effective high school size, according to the research, is 600-900 students. Yet, in 2007, more than two- thirds of New Mexico ninth graders entered high schools with populations larger than 1,000 students, and nearly a third entered high schools with more than 2,000 students.

Small schools are not only better for students, they also cost less to build and operate. Researchers have found that the most efficient schools are those serving 300-900 students. Schools larger than this experience "diseconomies of scale": inefficiencies and increased costs that result from increases in bureaucracy, security, and transportation. In addition, if the operational cost of a school is calculated "per graduate" rather than "per student," small schools are substantially more efficient than large schools because their dropout rates are much lower.

The capital costs of small schools can also be far less per student than those of large schools if the small schools are designed to take advantage of community educational resources like gymnasiums, pools, libraries, and sports fields, rather than duplicating these facilities. Several New Mexico charter schools have successfully applied this community-based model, at a savings of millions of taxpayer dollars.

Think New Mexico recommends that the legislature and Governor Richardson enact legislation requiring that: 1) any school receiving state capital outlay funding for construction must have a capacity of no more than 225 students per high school grade level, 120 students per middle school grade level, or 60 students per elementary school grade level; and 2) schools receiving additional state funds to serve at-risk students must establish smaller learning communities if they exceed these size limits and if they have not already done so.

During the 2009 legislative session, Think New Mexico will be championing legislation to cap the size of future public schools built in New Mexico and to establish smaller learning communities in the state's existing large schools by 2011.

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Frank If you were running a business and you started losing customers, what would you do? You would certainly review your pricing strategy, but that is far from all you would do. You would do consumer research to see why your customers were leaving. What surveys of dropouts have been done and what do the surveys show?

Ask the customers what they...See MoreIf you were running a business and you started losing customers, what would you do? You would certainly review your pricing strategy, but that is far from all you would do. You would do consumer research to see why your customers were leaving. What surveys of dropouts have been done and what do the surveys show?

Ask the customers what they want for an education product, and consider delviering that product. The customers are the students who are attending and who seem to be able to drop out of their own volition, the parents, who are apparently not as enthusiastic as they need to be to keep their kids in school, and the other taxpayres, who are willing to fund schools as long as schools create externalized benefits that accrue to the population not directly involved in schools.

Small schools may or may not be more efficient, but if the schools continue to deliver the same product, the result is not likely to vary much with school size. the differences in dropout rates may reflect that schools of a certain size are delivering a different product, perhaps more personalized, perhaps less bureaucratically stifled, and the better product is more likely to be the key.

On 12/01/08, Think New Mexico wrote: > New Mexico's graduation rate ranks second from the bottom > of the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Only 54.1% > of New Mexico's children graduate from high school, > compared with a national average of 70.6%. An average of > 77 students drop out each school day across New Mexico - > nearly 14,000 per year. > > Decades of research have shown that smaller schools have > higher graduation rates, higher student achievement, lower > levels of student alienation and violence, and higher > levels of satisfaction among students, parents, > principals, and teachers. Small schools also dramatically > improve the performance of low-income children, which > helps to narrow the persistent achievement gap. > > The most effective high school size, according to the > research, is 600-900 students. Yet, in 2007, more than two- > thirds of New Mexico ninth graders entered high schools > with populations larger than 1,000 students, and nearly a > third entered high schools with more than 2,000 students. > > Small schools are not only better for students, they also > cost less to build and operate. Researchers have found > that the most efficient schools are those serving 300-900 > students. Schools larger than this > experience "diseconomies of scale": inefficiencies and > increased costs that result from increases in bureaucracy, > security, and transportation. In addition, if the > operational cost of a school is calculated "per graduate" > rather than "per student," small schools are substantially > more efficient than large schools because their dropout > rates are much lower. > > The capital costs of small schools can also be far less > per student than those of large schools if the small > schools are designed to take advantage of community > educational resources like gymnasiums, pools, libraries, > and sports fields, rather than duplicating these > facilities. Several New Mexico charter schools have > successfully applied this community-based model, at a > savings of millions of taxpayer dollars. > > Think New Mexico recommends that the legislature and > Governor Richardson enact legislation requiring that: 1) > any school receiving state capital outlay funding for > construction must have a capacity of no more than 225 > students per high school grade level, 120 students per > middle school grade level, or 60 students per elementary > school grade level; and 2) schools receiving additional > state funds to serve at-risk students must establish > smaller learning communities if they exceed these size > limits and if they have not already done so. > > During the 2009 legislative session, Think New Mexico will > be championing legislation to cap the size of future > public schools built in New Mexico and to establish > smaller learning communities in the state's existing large > schools by 2011.

Dec 2, 2008

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