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Faith in KIPP Schools
In a comment to School Choice 101, TDSBNW mentioned a forthcoming Mathematica study of KIPP schools, saying “Mathematica has a history of doing thorough research and data crunching, and does not mince details even if they are not what the customer wanted”. This study has now been published - “Student Characteristics and Achievement in 22 KIPP Schools”. As this is a long-term study (continuing through 2014), it is an interim report, but nevertheless the results are stunning. The study found that, even though entering students’ achievement levels are on average lower than the district average, they make substantial progress in both literacy and math. The average improvement statistics included all students who had ever enrolled at the schools, even students who spent only one year in a KIPP school, as well as the results for two schools that lost their KIPP affiliation during the course of the study. This means that the study’s positive findings are probably conservative when it comes to students who spend four years in a KIPP school.
For more information about KIPP schools, click here. In a nutshell, these are US middle schools that enroll mostly poor, minority students and send more than 90% of their graduates to college preparatory high schools and more than 85% on to college. They are living proof that demographics are not destiny.