School Transitions and Students' Achievement in the Fifth Grade

Although separate schools that attend to the specific needs of students are generally considered to be beneficial, the school-to-school transitions they necessitate are often harmful. Drawing on cumulative stress theory, the author examined the relationship between school transitions and students' Grade 5 achievement. Propensity score matching methods are used on data from 2 panel-waves of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study to test the hypothesis that these transitions result in adverse academic outcomes. Estimates from matched samples indicate that transitions between Grades 3 and 5 are not significantly associated with decreases in mathematics, reading, or science achievement. The results of this study directly challenge extant research and demonstrate a critical methodological perspective on the relationship between school transitions and students' achievement.