| This study was conducted to assess the first and second year results of a school size reduction reform at Midway High School, Midway Independent School District, McLennan County, Texas. The school had approximately 1,800 students, and in 2003 the student body was administratively divided into four "houses," chosen by alphabetical order. The intent of the change was to develop four small-school environments within a physical building constructed for a comprehensive high school of 1,800 students. The questions that guided the study were: (a) Were there any changes in school performance in the first two years following the implementation of School-Within-a-School (SWaS) school reform? (b) Were there any changes in student dropout rates in the first two years following the implementation of SWaS school reform? (c) Were there any changes in overall extra-curricular participation rates in the first two years following the implementation of SWaS school reform? (d) Were there any changes in performance among identified at-risk subgroups of the student population? (e) Were there any changes in dropout rates among African-American, Hispanic, and low-socioeconomic students in the first two years following the implementation of SWaS school reform? (f) Were there any demographic changes that may have been related to the above objectives?; Multiple data sources were used to analyze the student performance and attrition, all of which were archival in nature. Two years prior to the implementation and two years following it were examined.; The overall grade average of students in the school improved during the period following the reform. Dropout rates did not change, although among African-American and Hispanic students total attrition for all reasons increased. There were no differences in extra-curricular participation, although African-American and Hispanic students posted improvements in participation following the reform, while economically-disadvantaged students' performance fell. However, during the period following reform implementation there was a demographic shift in which the relative number of White students increased. Nevertheless, grade improvement among African-American and Hispanic students was real. |
