| Student mobility is the constant flow of students enrolling in and transferring out of a school or school district throughout the school year. High student mobility negatively impacts the mobile and non-mobile students as well as the larger school community. The constant state of flux caused by high rates of student mobility in urban schools prevents schools from providing consistent and coherent instruction to both the mobile and the non-mobile student populations. Consequently, urban schools are disproportionately failing to close the achievement gap between advantaged and disadvantaged student populations.; To date, education reform initiatives have failed to address student mobility and the implications for academic achievement and accountability. Student mobility remains unrecognized as a serious problem that impacts all aspects of urban education reform and contributes to the gap in achievement between advantaged and disadvantaged students.; This descriptive, mixed methods study examines the extent, causes, and consequences of student mobility on urban school districts in Massachusetts. The research codifies the concepts, terms, and student mobility formula and establishes statewide benchmarks for intradistrict and interdistrict comparisons. School districts were categorized as having student populations that were mobile, highly mobile, and hypermobile. Following a quantitative analysis of factors in relation to student mobility statewide, this study examines the urban school district of Chelsea, Massachusetts, to determine the extent, causes, and consequences of high student mobility at the school and classroom levels. From the case study emerges evidence that highly mobile students are generally lower performing academically compared to non-mobile counterparts; students leaving the school district tend to be students of higher academic achievement than those students entering the school district; and the higher performing students have a greater percent of time in the school district. Furthermore, research reveals high student mobility negatively impacts the mobile student, non-mobile student, and the entire educational community. Findings from the study have implications for policy and practice. |
