View Research by Author - Becky Smerdon

Publications

Our educational system is in a continuous state of reform, yet outcomes are nowhere near what we can accept. Though the search for answers is perpetual, many efforts over the past decade have homed in on one feature of high schools—their size. If we simply reduce school size, the argument goes, students will gain a safer environment that can address their individual needs. It seems like common sense, but such changes alone have not proven a magic bullet. Saving America's High Schools offers quantitative research drawn from large-scale reform studies along with recommendations for federal, state, and district reform.

This report presents findings from the first detailed study of Baltimore's 5 year high school reform. Using administrative data, Urban Institute researchers found that test scores and attendance rates were higher for students in Baltimore's innovation high schools than in the city's comprehensive or newly formed neighborhood high schools. Students in innovation and neighborhood schools also showed more stability in their enrollment than their counterparts in comprehensive schools. These findings remained after controlling for students' backgrounds and previous achievements even though students at innovation schools were more academically advantaged than their peers in other schools prior to entering high school.

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