Schools of Choice Focus of Research at MSU

A program designed to give students in Michigan the option to go to what may be a better school in a neighboring district is having trouble keeping kids in the program.

That’s just one of the findings of research happening on schools of choice at Michigan State University.

Joshua Cowen, an associate professor of education policy at MSU, is leading the study and found nearly half of the kids who change schools didn’t stay in that district.

He says changing schools frequently can be tough on kids, citing national studies that show they’re likely to struggle that first year after transferring.

He also found the students most likely to enroll in the program are black, poor and don’t test well in math.

The next step in the study is to find out how bouncing from district to district impacts the student’s academic performance.

Cowen also wants to look at the kinds of schools attracting schools of choice enrollees.