A personalized high school environment: A comparison of structures, programs, and practices in small, midsized, and large high schools

The problem addressed in this study is the societal and institutional perception that large high schools have become impersonal environments with declining attendance rates and achievement compared to smaller high schools. Personalization was the theoretical framework for the study that was conducted with the cooperation of the National Association of Secondary School Principals. The non-experimental exploratory design examined if differences in personalized school environment levels existed at 3 high schools of varying size. A random sample of 1,032 students in grades 9, 10, 11, and 12 from a small, midsized, and large high school in a suburban Arizona school district were surveyed using the Comprehensive Assessment of School Environments (CASE) to measure the personalization level of the school. Analysis of variance was used to test for significant differences across school size for each of the CASE subscales; Personalization (PER), Teacher-Student Relationships (TSR), Student-Student Relationships (SSR), Whole School Climate (WSC). Results revealed significant differences existed between the small school compared to the large school for TSR and SSR; significant differences existed between the small school compared to either the medium or large school on PER; while no size-related differences were observed for WSC. These results appear to empirically validate a common core of popular cultural perceptions regarding size-related differences in the quality of high school learning environments. Recommendations and implications for social change include potential presentation of these results to educators who can develop specific structures, programs, and practices to personalize high schools influencing school climate, students' belonging, and school achievement capable of producing change in high schools.