School District Size Research Articles

ShakeAlert® and schools: Incorporating earthquake early warning in school districts in Alaska, California, Oregon, and Washington

The U.S. Geological Survey-managed ShakeAlert® earthquake early warning system is the first public alerting system in the United States to provide rapid mass notification when an earthquake is detected. Although public alert delivery via mobile phones began in California in 2019 followed by Oregon and Washington in 2021, little is known about what might drive widespread implementation in at-risk institutional settings such as schools. For example, there has been limited research on how to best integrate earthquake early warning into existing emergency plans, alert systems, and drills to keep school children and personnel safe in an earthquake. To address this gap, in the spring of 2022, every school district superintendent in Alaska, California, Oregon, and Washington was sent a 15-min online survey. The survey assessed superintendent knowledge of ShakeAlert, preferences for alert messaging, and perceived opportunities and barriers to incorporating the system in schools. The results showed that superintendents had low awareness of ShakeAlert but held positive perceptions of the system's potential to enable life-saving protective actions. A major barrier to adoption included the perceived financial cost of implementing and maintaining the system. There were some statistically significant differences in state responses, and future research could investigate the specific needs of each state based on school district size and composition, hazard exposure, and earthquake experience. Together these findings can help inform targeted strategies to increase ShakeAlert adoption in schools and ultimately improve the safety of school children and staff during earthquakes.

K–8 Speech-Language Pathologists' Training and Implementation of Research-Based Behavioral Intervention Strategies

Purpose:The purpose of this study was to examine school-based speech-language pathologists' (SLPs') training and implementation of research-based behavioral intervention strategies and to determine if there were differences in the SLPs' training and implementation based on school district size and years of experience.Method:Nonexperimental and quantitative survey research methods, using a researcher-developed survey with 21 response items inquiring about training and implementation of research-based behavioral intervention strategies, were distributed to current members of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. Seventy-eight qualified respondents completed the survey. The researchers utilized multiple independent-samples two-tailedttests for analysis.Results:Results indicated that SLPs in the study had some training in research-based behavioral intervention strategies and that these strategies were implemented sometimes during speech therapy sessions. There was no statistically significant difference in amount of SLP training or implementation based on years of experience or district size. Insight was gained on the types of behaviors that SLPs encountered during speech therapy sessions and how those behaviors negatively impacted their ability to provide services as well as their overall job satisfaction.Conclusions:Although K–8 SLPs have some training and sometimes implement research-based behavioral intervention strategies, regardless of their years of experience or the size of the district in which they worked, SLPs identified several topics of behavior intervention strategies that would be helpful to address in future training. To better prepare SLPs to work with students who exhibit behavioral issues, more training in research-based behavioral intervention strategies in preparation programs and professional development plans should be considered.

Empowering practices in education-focused coalitions: an examination using fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis

Abstract As pressure increases to support social justice, coalitions try to understand their role in oppression while implementing practices to create equitable environments. Twenty-six education-focused community coalitions in the United States participated in the study. Coalition interviews and membership rosters are used to evaluate the degree to which these coalitions engage in community engagement practices conducive to empowerment. Involvement practices emphasize communication strategies and participatory design structures. Systems change practices emphasize agenda-setting processes and a level of awareness of structural sources that create social marginalization. This work investigates how these two practices create empowerment. This study uses fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis to examine the impact of community poverty, coalition age, government representation, coalition size, school district size, and coalition governance on involvement and systems change practices. The results demonstrate combinations of these conditions in four mutually exclusive solutions for involvement practices and two mutually exclusive solutions for systems change practices. The paper ends by identifying cases that coincide with these solutions and how communities thoughtfully configure their collaborations to coincide with empowerment theory. Additionally, we identify potential trade-offs between involvement and systems change practices.

(Digitally) Connecting Students, Schools, and Districts: Measuring the Size and Popularity of K-12 Public and Charter School District Websites

As open enrollment charter districts have continued to grow in Texas, researchers and policymakers have continued to investigate how charter districts market themselves to the public in an effort to recruit students, teachers, and finances. Although a wealth of research has examined how charter districts recruit students, teachers, and finances through traditional methods, recent developments in computer science now allows researchers to measure the size and visibility of district websites on the Internet. As a result, this study uses the Texas Education Agency and SEMrush data from the 2018–2019 school year to compare the website size and popularity of charter school district and traditional public school district websites to understand how these districts invest in their robustness of their web presence. Results suggest that when compared to traditional public school districts in Texas, charter school districts publish smaller websites ( p < 0.001) and are less popular on the Internet ( p < 0.001) than traditional public peers. Implications for research, policy, and competition between open enrollment charter districts and traditional public school districts are addressed.

Factors Associated with Universal Free School Meal Provision Adoption among US Public Schools

The Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) allows high-poverty schools participating in US Department of Agriculture meal programs to offer universal free school meals. Emerging evidence suggests benefits of CEP for student meal participation, behavior, and academic performance. Although CEP became available nationwide in 2014, in school year 2019-2020, one third of eligible schools were not participating. This study evaluates which school, district, and state factors are associated with CEP participation. Cross-sectional study comparing CEP-participating with eligible nonparticipating schools to assess the relationship between CEP participation and school, district, and state factors. US public schools eligible for CEP in school year 2017-2018 (n= 42,813). CEP participation. Penalized regression variable selection methods to determine which factors contribute information to the model. Generalized logistic regression to predict odds of CEP participation unadjusted and adjusted for each factor in the full sample and in stratified analyses by whether a state was part of the CEP phase-in period (early vs late implementing states). In the full sample, adjusted odds of CEP participation were greater in states where CEP had been available longer (odds ratio [OR], 1.50; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.34, 1.67). In late implementing states, adjusted odds of CEP participation were higher in schools with more students directly certified for free meals (OR in schools with 80%-89% vs 30%-39% directly certified: 19.32; 95% CI, 12.98, 28.76), Title I schools (OR, 1.85; 95% CI, 1.55, 2.21), and urban schools (OR suburban vs urban, 0.46; 95% CI, 0.36, 0.59). Differences by school level, enrollment, district size, student race/ethnicity, and geographic region also existed. Findings may help advocates, state agencies, and policymakers understand potential barriers to adoption and guide research exploring effective strategies to promote uptake. Future research should use qualitative and longitudinal designs to explore barriers to adoption, including cost and state and local policies.

Prevalence of autism spectrum disorder in a large, diverse metropolitan area: Variation by sociodemographic factors.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) prevalence estimates have varied by region. In this study, ASD prevalence, based on active case finding from multiple sources, was determined at the county and school district levels in the New Jersey metropolitan area. Among children born in 2008, residing in a four-county area and enrolled in public school in 2016, ASD prevalence was estimated to be 36 per 1000, but was significantly higher in one region-54 per 1000 and greater than 70 per 1000, in multiple school districts. Significant variation in ASD prevalence by race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status (SES), and school district size was identified. Highest prevalence was in mid-SES communities, contrary to expectation. Prevalence among Hispanic children was lower than expected, indicating a disparity in identification. Comprehensive surveillance should provide estimates at the county and town levels to appreciate ASD trends, identify disparities in detection or treatment, and explore factors influencing change in prevalence. LAY SUMMARY: We found autism prevalence to be 3.6% in New Jersey overall, but higher in one region (5.4%) and in multiple areas approaching 7.0%. We identified significant variation in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) prevalence by race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status (SES) and school district size. Mapping prevalence in smaller, well-specified, regions may be useful to better understand the true scope of ASD, disparities in ASD detection and the factors impacting ASD prevalence estimation.

Cost-Optimal School District Size in Pennsylvania: Comparing Cobb-Douglas Least Squares and Generalized Additive Model Estimation

Cost-Optimal School District Size in Pennsylvania: Comparing Cobb-Douglas Least Squares and Generalized Additive Model Estimation

Using Multiple Methods to Provide Prediction Bands of K-12 Enrollment Projections

Often, demographers charged with projecting enrollments for school districts are asked to provide a range of future enrollments, as point estimates are not satisfactory to stakeholders. Three New Jersey school districts in varying populations sizes (small, medium, and large) were used to project enrollments 5 years into the future. Prediction bands were created using empirically-based methods, whereby confidence intervals were constructed, and by model-based methods, which utilizes stochastic forecasting. While stochastic forecasting is typically used in projecting the population of large geographies such as states or countries, it has rarely been used for a small level of geography such as a school district. The results showed that confidence intervals may have limited utility in projecting an enrollment range for larger districts, particularly in the short term (1–2 years). Prediction intervals using stochastic forecasting have limited utility in school district projections, regardless of school district size, as the prediction bands are too wide to allow for any meaningful use of the data.

Estimating scale economies and the optimal size of school districts: A flexible form approach

This paper investigates estimation methods to model the relationship between school district size, costs per student and the organisation of school districts. We show that the assumptions on the functional form strongly affect the estimated scale economies and offer two possible solutions to allow for more flexibility in the estimation method. First, we introduce a model by adding higher‐degree district size polynomials, allowing for multiple optima. Second, we develop a Fourier cost function, innovative in the literature on scale economies in education. We then compare both models to classical approaches in the literature. We illustrate how a minor change in the estimation method can alter policy conclusions significantly using Flemish school district data. In doing so, we find sizeable potential cost savings from the consolidation of school districts, especially at the lower tail of the district–size distribution. The organisational transition from small to large school districts is characterised by an interval between two optima. Beyond an apparent slowdown in cost savings in medium‐sized school districts, cost savings from school district consolidation increase again, up to the optimal size of around 6,500 students. Beyond this optimum, school districts incur diseconomies of scale. The commonly used quadratic form (‘U’‐shaped cost function) overestimates scale economies, and fails to identify the interval between both optima.

Do Smaller Classes Always Improve Students’ Long‐run Outcomes?

AbstractWe exploit the strict class size rule in Norway and matched individual and school register information for 1982–2011 to estimate long‐run causal effects on income and educational attainment. Contrary to recent evidence from the US and Sweden, we do not find any significant average effect on long‐run outcomes of reduced class size. We further use the large register data set and quasi‐experimental strategy to estimate whether the class size effect depends on external conditions facing students and schools, such as teacher quality, extent of upper secondary school choice, school district size, local fiscal constraints and labour market conditions. Overall, we find that the class size effect does not depend on these factors measured at the school district level. The absence of class size effects on long‐run outcomes in Norway is consistent with earlier findings for short‐run outcomes, using comparable data and empirical strategies.

Adverse Childhood Experiences and School-Based Victimization and Perpetration.

Retrospective studies using adult self-report data have demonstrated that adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) increase risk of violence perpetration and victimization. However, research examining the associations between adolescent reports of ACE and school violence involvement is sparse. The present study examines the relationship between adolescent reported ACE and multiple types of on-campus violence (bringing a weapon to campus, being threatened with a weapon, bullying, fighting, vandalism) for boys and girls as well as the risk of membership in victim, perpetrator, and victim-perpetrator groups. The analytic sample was comprised of ninth graders who participated in the 2013 Minnesota Student Survey (n ~ 37,000). Multinomial logistic regression models calculated the risk of membership for victim only, perpetrator only, and victim-perpetrator subgroups, relative to no violence involvement, for students with ACE as compared with those with no ACE. Separate logistic regression models assessed the association between cumulative ACE and school-based violence, adjusting for age, ethnicity, family structure, poverty status, internalizing symptoms, and school district size. Nearly 30% of students were exposed to at least one ACE. Students with ACE represent 19% of no violence, 38% of victim only, 40% of perpetrator only, and 63% of victim-perpetrator groups. There was a strong, graded relationship between ACE and the probability of school-based victimization: physical bullying for boys but not girls, being threatened with a weapon, and theft or property destruction (ps < .001) and perpetration: bullying and bringing a weapon to campus (ps < .001), with boys especially vulnerable to the negative effects of cumulative ACE. We recommend that schools systematically screen for ACE, particularly among younger adolescents involved in victimization and perpetration, and develop the infrastructure to increase access to trauma-informed intervention services. Future research priorities and implications are discussed.

The influence of school size, principal characteristics and school management practices on educational performance: An efficiency analysis of Italian students attending middle schools

The aim of the paper is to identify which among the aspects that relate to the composition of the student body, school (district) size, management practices and the school principals' own characteristics are associated with the performance of Italian students at grade 8, measured through standardised test scores in reading and mathematics. The analysis makes use of a student-level efficiency model, and several school level variables are included as explanators for efficiency scores. The results show that, especially for reading, the most influential variables relate to the composition of the student body, while the students' performance in mathematics is partly correlated with the management practices adopted by the school principal/head teacher. Schools and schooling can only explain a minor part of the variance in achievement scores, however, and the characteristics of the students themselves play the most significant role.

Differences in school boards with hired and elected superintendents: a first look

In this article, we use original survey data collected from Florida school board members to determine if the perceived benefits of an appointed local government executive apply to the school board context. Though we observe a performance advantage for school districts with appointed superintendents, the advantage appears to be a function of school district size and demographics rather than government form. Similarly, observed differences in board governance dynamics in districts with elected as opposed to appointed superintendents appear to be a function of factors other than government form. Finally, we find that board members are more likely to delegate day-to-day financial management duties to appointed superintendents. Overall, we conclude that the government form literature does not necessarily translate to special purpose governments. The results are of interest to scholars of local government, education administration, and group dynamics.

Bigger ≠ Better: The Comprehensiveness and Strength of School Wellness Policies Varies by School District Size.

District size has been shown to impact the anticipated barriers to wellness policy creation and implementation. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to determine if strength and comprehensiveness of wellness policies differs among school districts of varying size. Wellness policies were collected from 10 large, 29 medium, and 31 small school districts in a rural Midwest state. District size was categorized by the average daily membership in grades 9-11. Polices were coded using the Wellness School Assessment Tool (WellSAT). Strength and comprehensiveness of the full policy and policy sections were compared among small, medium, and large districts using 1-way analyses of variance (ANOVAs). Data are presented as mean ± SD. Statistical significance was set at p ≤ .05. There was a difference in the total combined (p = .041), total comprehensiveness (p = .043), and total strength scores (p = .031) based on school district size, such that small districts had stronger, more comprehensive wellness policies than large districts. Section comparisons revealed the section focused on Standards for United States Department of Agriculture School Meals was primarily responsible for these differences. These data suggest smaller districts write policies that are more comprehensive to governmental standards and use more definitive language than larger districts.

The Foundation of Racial Disparities in the Standardized Testing Era

We present a historical outline of racial inequality in Virginia’s kindergarten through 12th grade educational system focusing on de jure school desegregation and subsequent massive resistance following Virginia’s role in Brown v. Board of Education. Currently, standardized tests are used to evaluate students’ educational progress and knowledge, evaluate teacher and administrative effectiveness, and measure states’ educational efforts. In this article, we use school district-level data to examine racial disparities between black and white students in Virginia in 2010. We find widespread disparities in standardized test score passing rates with the exception of black students’ performance in history and social science before high school. Black students are consistently less likely than white students to earn passing scores in all subject areas at each grade level. We use state-level education data such as school district size, teacher–student ratio, and school funding to contextualize the standardized test data. We find that the locale of schools and their close links to white financial advantage and black student segregation can impact school resources and influence black students’ performance on standardized tests. We argue that the historic denial of equal educational opportunities to black Virginians is related to current educational inequality. We discuss our analyses in relation to policy implications for black student academic achievement.

The Impact of the Great Recession on School District Finances: Evidence from New York

Despite education’s fundamental role in human capital formation and growth, there is no research that examines the effect of the Great Recession (or any other recession) on schools. Our paper begins to fill this gap. Exploiting detailed data on school finance indicators and an analysis of trend shifts, we examine how the Great Recession affected school funding in New York State. While we find no evidence of effects on either total revenue or expenditure, there were important compositional changes to both. There is strong evidence of substitution of funds on the revenue side — the infusion of funds from the federal stimulus occurred simultaneously with statistically and economically significant cuts in state and local financing, especially the former. On the expenditure side, instructional expenditure was maintained, while other categories such as transportation, student activities, and utilities suffered. Important heterogeneities in experiences are also observed by poverty level, metropolitan area, school district size, and urban status. Affluent districts were hurt the most; the New York City metro area, especially Nassau County, sustained the largest losses in terms of both revenue and expenditure. Our findings promise to facilitate an understanding of how recessions affect schools and of the role policy can play in mitigating the consequences.

School board politics, school district size, and the bargaining power of teachers’ unions

This paper presents a public choice theory of the bargaining power of teachers’ unions. The theory predicts that the power of the unions rises with the size of a district. The theory is tested by examining the relationship between district size and various bargaining outcomes for a sample of 771 California school districts in 1999–2000. As hypothesized, teachers’ salaries rise and the ratio of teachers per pupil falls with increasing district size. The paper also considers several alternative explanations for these results.

The Effect of Residential School Choice on Public High School Graduation Rates

This study evaluates the effect of school district size on public high school graduation rates. The study calculates the graduation rate for each graduating class in each state between 1991 and 2002 and uses a fixed-effects model to examine the relationship between these graduation rates and changes in the size of each state's school districts during that period. The analysis indicates that decreasing the average size of a state's school districts by 200 square miles leads to an increase of about 1.64 percentage points in its graduation rate. To put this result into context, if Florida decreased the size of its school districts to the national median, it would increase its graduation rate by about 4.5 percentage points.

Transportation cost changes with statewide school district consolidation

This article studies the relationship between school district size and bus transportation costs, and estimates the change in such costs when a statewide policy of consolidation is pursued. To explore this relationship, we develop a multiple-objective model and solution procedure that combines a geographic aggregation and bus routing heuristic to generate consolidation scenarios. The heuristic was developed to explicitly consider efficiency, effectiveness, and equity objectives, and can be applied in both urban and rural states. The scenarios will generate average statewide bus transportation costs. As applied to the State of Iowa, within the legislature's proposed range of consolidation of 500–1000 students, it was found that transportation operational and capital cost increases range from 0.6 to 10.6 percent and 0.7 to 7.7 percent, respectively.

School district size and student educational attainment: evidence from Denmark

This paper analyses the effects of the size of school districts on educational attainment of students after compulsory school in Denmark. Using administrative microdata for individual students and their parents, logit models for the probability of obtaining different levels of education are estimated where the explanatory variables include district size, per student expenditure, and a wide range of controls for family background and district socioeconomic characteristics. It is found that attending schools in districts with a population of less than 15,000 (corresponding to less than 1800 students in public primary and lower secondary schools) has negative effects on educational attainment later in life: The probability of completing a secondary education (upper secondary school or vocational education) or a further or higher education is reduced by approximately 3 percentage points compared to having attended primary and lower secondary school in a district with more than 15,000 inhabitants.