California Accepted Papers Paper:
Enrollment Size and Student Achievement and Attainment in Arkansas
*Names in bold indicate Presenter
Student enrollment appears to affect school learning environments and the quality of education schools provide. This study examines the relationship between school enrollment size and student achievement and attainment using a cross panel of Arkansas state-wide data for 10th grade students in 2015, 2016, and 2017 and 12th grade students in those same years. A review of studies by Leithwood and Jantz (2009) show multiple findings of non-linear relationships in student achievement and school enrollment size, with peaks in achievement between 600 and slightly over 1,000 students. Therefore, this study divides Arkansas high schools into four groups based on enrollment: up to 400 students, 401-700 students, 701-1,000 students, and 1,001 students and above. This study will compare these groups, controlling for demographic factors, using test scores from the 10th grade math and reading ACT Aspire, Arkansas’s state achievement exam, and high school graduation rates. Evidence suggests small schools can benefit kids along several dimensions. That said, research largely concentrates on urban environments. It’s not clear if school size would mediate outcomes in the same way in rural areas. This paper will contribute to the literature on the effect of enrollment size by determining how enrollment size impacts students in these communities.
