Does School Academic Context Moderate the Relationship between Student Mobility and Academic Performance? Longitudinal Evidence from Missouri
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 19216556 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Margaret K Powers (0000-0001-7577-9950), M Powers (Washington University in St. Louis, corresponding author), Peter Cohen (0009-0003-5285-5019, Washington University in St. Louis, corresponding author), Somalis Chy (0000-0002-8503-6664, Washington University in St. Louis, corresponding author), J Jabbari (0000-0002-0196-4966, Washington University in St. Louis, corresponding author), Yung Chun (0000-0002-9248-8001, Washington University in St. Louis, corresponding author), Takeshi Terada (New Mexico Department of Health, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 58 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Publication date | 2026-06-12 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The Urban Review (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0042-0972 • E-ISSN: 1573-1960 |
| Publisher | Springer Science+Business Media (PUBLISHER • DE) |
| DOI | 10.1007/s11256-026-00815-6 |
| OpenAlex | W7164535783 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 34 |
Student mobility is highly prevalent in the U.S. and often has negative impacts on students’ academic performance. Within-year mobility may be especially disruptive; however, research on its impacts is limited. Additionally, less is known about how impacts may vary across school academic and geographic contexts. This study leverages longitudinal student-level data collected over nine years across five counties to investigate how within-year school mobility impacts academic performance over time and across contexts. Using random-effect panel regression models results indicate that within-year mobility predicted significant declines in academic performance the following year. Transferring to higher-performing schools initially led to poorer performance, with gradual improvement over time. Findings suggest that school context does matter. We provide implications for policy and practice
Academic achievement · Context (archaeology) · Context effect · Longitudinal data · Longitudinal study · Regression analysis · Social mobility · Intergenerational and Educational Inequality Studies · School Choice and Performance · Urban Transport and Accessibility
Peer Effects in Education
Disruption versus Tiebout improvement
School Mobility and High School Dropout
An exploration of school mobility
Perceived School Climate and Difficulties in the Social Adjustment of Middle School Students
Disruption and adaptation
Student mobility
Closing schools in a shrinking district
Hypermobility and Educational Outcomes
Between-Year and Within-Year School Mobility
Intra-District Student Mobility, School Discipline and Gender
Who Transfers and Where Do They Go? Identifying Risk Factors Across Student, School, and Neighborhood Characteristics
The Importance of Scaffolding the Transition
From the Achievement Gap to the Education Debt
The Effects of Universal Pre‐K in Oklahoma
The Causes and Consequences of Student Mobility
School Enrollment Changes and Student Achievement Growth
| Highly cited | No |
|---|