Research Paper: Estimating the Impact of Integrated Student Support on Elementary School Achievement: A Natural Experiment
Authors: Jordan L. Lawson, Laura M. O’Dwye, Eric Dearing, Anastasia E. Raczek, Claire Foley, Noman Khanani, Mary E. Walsh, Yan R. Leigh
Overview
“Estimating the Impact of Integrated Student Support on Elementary School Achievement: A Natural Experiment” uses the random component of a large urban school district’s school assignment system to simulate a randomized control trial. It allows for comparison between students who were assigned to elementary schools with and without an evidence-based approach to integrated student support. It finds that students who attended elementary schools with integrated student support demonstrated higher academic achievement, with the largest and most robust gains found in the 5th grade. These findings add to the evidence base supporting a model of systemic, comprehensive student support.
Jordan Lawson, Research Associate at Boston College's Mary E. Walsh Center for Thriving Children.
Key Findings
The study finds that students who attended elementary schools with integrated student support demonstrated higher academic achievement. Effect sizes indicated that student achievement improved by as much as 20 percent, which is equivalent to about 90 percent of the average estimated Black-White achievement gap and about 50 percent of the estimated gap between students from high- and low-income families.