an examination of the effects on educational outcomes from high school consolidation

January 2011PE 10-21-488

RESEARCH REPORT

An Examination Of The Effects On Educational Outcomes From High School Consolidation:Lincoln County’s Experience

WEST VIRGINIA LEGISLATIVE AUDITOR

PERFORMANCE EVALUATION & RESEARCH DIVISION

JOINT COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS

Senate

Edwin J. Bowman, ChairHerb Snyder, Vice-ChairWalt Helmick Brooks McCabeClark S. Barnes

House of Delegates

Jim Morgan, ChairDale Stephens, Vice-ChairRuth RowanPatti SchoenCraig Blair, Nonvoting Scott G. Varner, Nonvoting

Agency/ Citizen Members

John A. CanfieldW. Joseph McCoyKenneth Queen James WillisonVacancy

JOINT COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT ORGANIZATION

Senate

Edwin J. Bowman, ChairHerb Snyder, Vice-ChairRichard BrowningDan FosterJeffrey V. KesslerBrooks McCabeJoseph M. MinardCorey L. PalumboRandy WhiteBob Williams Jack YostDonna J. BoleyJohn ShottDave Sypolt

House of Delegates

Jim Morgan, Chair Dale Stephens, Vice-Chair Brent BoggsGreg Butcher Samuel J. Cann, Sr. Roy GivensDaniel J. Hall William G. Hartman Barbara HatfieldMike ManypennyDale Martin Daniel PolingMeshea L. PooreMargaret A. Staggers

Randy SwartzmillerJoe TalbottTerry WalkerTom AzingerDaryl E. CowlesPat McGeehanCarol MillerJonathan MillerThomas Porter, JrRuth Rowan

Aaron AllredLegislative Auditor

Building 1, Room W-314State Capitol ComplexCharleston, West Virginia 25305(304) 347-4890

John SylviaDirector

Derek ThomasResearch Analyst



Performance Evaluation & Research Division | pg. �

Research Report January 2011

CONTENTS

Executive Summary .......................................................................................................................................................5

An Examination of the Effects On Educational Outcomes From High School Consolidation: Lincoln County’s Experience.......................................................................7

List of FiguresFigure 1: Lincoln and Logan Counties Maps .........................................................................................................9

List of TablesTable 1: Methods of Calculating the High School Graduation Rate for Lincoln County ....................11Table 2: Cumulative Promotion Index Calculations Lincoln County Pre-Consolidated High Schools ....................................................................................................................................................12Table 3: Lincoln County WESTEST Proficiency Data ........................................................................................13Table 4: Lincoln County High School WESTEST-2 Proficiency 10th Grade Proficiency .......................14Table 5: Average Class Size Pre and Post Consolidation ................................................................................15Table 6: Increase in Students Exceeding Maximum Bus Travel Guidelines A.M. Runs ........................16Table 7: Lincoln County Attendance Rates ........................................................................................................18Table 8: Pre and Post Consolidation Suspensions ...........................................................................................19Table 9: Extracurricular Activities Pre and Post Consolidation ....................................................................20Table 10: Dual Credit Course Offerings Pre and Post-Consolidation .........................................................21Table 11: Advance Placement Course Offerings Pre and Post-Consolidation ........................................22Table 12: Percentage of High School Students in AP Courses .....................................................................22Table 13: Percentage of Students Taking College-Entrance Exams ...........................................................23

pg. 4 | West Virginia Legislative Auditor

High School Consolidation



EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

TheLegislativeAuditor’s January2010DepartmentReviewoftheDepartmentofEducationfoundthatthehighschoolgraduationratewasnegatively related to thesizeof schooldistrictsandhighschools.Thisgaverisetoconcernsthattheeffectsofhighschoolsbecominglargerthroughconsolidationhavenotbeenadequatelymeasured in thestate.Therefore,theLegislativeAuditor,inconjunctionwiththeWestVirginiaDepartmentofEducation,initiatedabefore-and-afterstudyoftheLincolnCountyhighschoolconsolidation,whichisthemostrecentconsolidationinthestate.Thisreportevaluateseighteducationaloutcomesbeforeandafter consolidation in order to develop an understanding for potentialhighschoolconsolidationsinthefuture.Thehighlightsofthisreportarestatedbelow.

Report Highlights:

An Examination of the Effects on Educational Outcomes From the Lincoln County High School Consolidation.

The Graduation Rate:

AclearconclusionofthestudyisthatLincolnCounty’shighschoolgraduationratehasnotsufferedasaresultoftheconsolidation.Itmayhaveremainedthesameorimprovedtosomeextent.

Academic Achievement:

Academic proficiency levels as measured by 10thgradetestscoresfortheconsolidatedschoolappeartohaveimprovedcomparedtotheoverallaverageofthefourindividualpre-consolidatedhighschools.Threeofthefourschoolswerestrugglingin10thgradetestscores.However,LincolnCountyHighSchoolisstillbelowstate proficiency averages.

Average Class Size:

AverageclasssizesinLincolnCountyHighSchoolhaveincreasedcomparedtomostofthepre-consolidatedhighschools,butnottotheextentofbeingaconcern.

School Bus Travel Time:

Longer bus travel times were an immediate effect of theconsolidation. The number of students exceeding therecommended guidelines for travel times increased significantly

pg. � | West Virginia Legislative Auditor


in all grade levels of Lincoln County schools. The effects ofschool travel timeson studentachievementandexperiencehasbeen insufficiently researched and could warrant further research inanyfutureconsolidation.

Attendance Rate:

LincolnCountyHighSchool’sattendanceratehasbeenimprovingeachyearsincetheconsolidationandhasbeengenerallyhigherthanthefourschoolspriortoconsolidation.

Discipline:

Lincoln County High School has had a generally lowerpercentageofsuspensionsthanthepre-consolidatedhighschoolsonan individualbasis. It isunclear if thiscanbeattributed toconsolidation,butitisapositiveaspect.

Extracurricular Activity:

Lincoln County High School offers all of the extracurricularactivities available prior to consolidation and several activitiespreviously unavailable. Though some activities may becomemoreexclusivewiththelargerstudentpopulation,manystudentswill likely benefit from the nine new offerings. It is not clear, however, if a larger percentage of students in the consolidatedschool are active in extracurricular activities compared to theindividualpre-consolidatedhighschools.

College Preparation:

Lincoln County High School offers eight different dual-creditcoursescompared to four in thepre-consolidatedhigh schools.ThesameamountofAdvancedPlacementcoursesarecurrentlyofferedaspriortoconsolidation,thoughsomecourseshavebeenreplaced.Participationincollege-entranceexamshasalsoseenpositive increases in most areas. These areas likely benefitted directlyfromtheconsolidation.



It must be noted that this study is in collaboration with the West Virginia Department of Education.

An Examination of the Effects on Educational Outcomes from the Lincoln County High School Consolidation

IntroductionIn January 2010, the Legislative Auditor’s Office issued a

performance evaluation report on the West Virginia Department ofEducation. One of the findings of that report revealed that the high schoolgraduationratetendedtobelowerforlargerschooldistrictsandhigh schools. The report raised concerns that the academic impactsfromhighschoolsbecominglargerthroughconsolidationhavenotbeensufficiently evaluated in West Virginia. Although the wave of high school consolidationshas subsided inWestVirginia, there are a fewcountiesinwhich it isapotential issue. Consequently, theLegislativeAuditorinitiatedthecurrentstudytoexaminetheacademiceffectsofhighschoolconsolidationinWestVirginiausingLincolnCounty’sexperience,whichisthestate’smostrecenthighschoolconsolidation.Thisreportexamineseight distinct areas that have been identified by researchers to be affected byconsolidation.TheeightareasexaminedforLincolnCounty’shighschoolconsolidationare:

1. Highschoolgraduationrate

2. Academic achievement reflected by test scores

3. Averageclasssize

4. Schoolbustraveltimes

5. Highschoolattendancerates

6. Discipline

7. Extracurricularactivities

8. Collegepreparation

ItmustbenotedthatthisstudyisincollaborationwiththeWestVirginiaDepartmentofEducation(DOE). ThestaffoftheLegislativeAuditor’s Office and the DOE worked jointly in gathering and confirming information, as well as in the analysis of the information. SomeinformationhadtobegatheredbytheLegislativeAuditordirectlyfromLincolnCounty.Furthermore,itshouldbepointedoutthattheanalysisinsomeareaswashamperedbydatalimitations.TherecentlyimplementedWESTEST-2 made it difficult to compare academic achievement of previousyearsunderWESTEST.Inaddition,thefourhighschoolsprior

The Legislative Auditor initiated the current study to examine the academic effects of high school consolidation in West Virginia using Lincoln County’s experience, which is the state’s most recent high school consolidation.



Prior to the consolidation, the four high schools each served students from grades 7-12. Following the consolidation, Lincoln County High School was formed to serve only 9th through 12th grade students.

totheconsolidationincluded7thand8thgradestudents. Insomecasesitwasnotpossible toseparate the7thand8thgradedatafromthehighschooldata.Therefore,insomeareasoftheanalysisonlyareasonableestimation could be made instead of a definitive conclusion.

Background of Lincoln County’s High School Consolidation

Beginninginacademicyear(AY)2006-07,fourLincolnCountyhigh schools were consolidated to form Lincoln County High School,whichisnowtheonlyhighschoolinthecounty.Thefourhighschoolsthat were consolidated are Duval, Guyan Valley, Harts and Hamlin.Thesehighschoolswereeitherclosedorrepurposedintheconsolidation.Proposalsforthisconsolidationbeganinthe1990’s.Thereasonscitedfortheconsolidationwerethedisrepairofsomeschoolsandpoorfacilitylayouts.

Prior to the consolidation, the four high schools each servedstudentsfromgrades7-12.Followingtheconsolidation,LincolnCountyHighSchoolwasformed toserveonly9th through12thgradestudents.The consolidation led to the repurposing of several school buildings,as some became middle schools and restructured elementary schools.ThereforestudentsofallgradelevelswereaffectedbytheLincolnCountyhighschoolconsolidation.Therestructuringallowedforthecreationofmiddle schools in the area, and someelementary schools expanded toservestudentsfrompre-kindergartenthrough8thgrade.

TheproposaltoconsolidatethefourhighschoolsrecognizedthatstudentsintheHartsareawouldbefacedwithrelativelylongbustraveltimes,seeFigure1.Consequently,parentsofHartsHighSchoolstudentsweregiventheoptiontohavetheirchildrenattendeitherLincolnCountyHighSchoolorChapmanvilleRegionalHighSchoolinLoganCounty,which is closer to theHarts area than is theconsolidatedhigh school.AccordingtotheLoganCountySchoolSuperintendent,therewere145HartsareastudentsattendingChapmanvilleRegionalHighSchoolduringthe 2010-11 school year. This number represents the large majorityofHartsareahighschoolstudents. ThenumberofHartsHighSchoolstudents in thelastyearprior to theconsolidationwas194. However,HartsHighSchoolenrollmenthadbeendeclining for severalyearsupto the consolidation. The LincolnCounty School SuperintendentwasnotabletoreadilyprovidethenumberofHartsareastudentsattendingLincolnCountyHighSchool.



Analysis of the Lincoln County High School Consolidation

Summary Thefollowinganalysisprovidesabefore-and-afterexaminationofLincolnCounty’shighschoolconsolidationprojectthatwaseffectiveforthe2006-07academicyear.Theobjectiveistodetermineifthelargerhigh school has resulted in negative academic attributes compared tothepre-consolidatedsmallerhighschools.LincolnCountywaschosenbecauseitisthemostrecenthighschoolconsolidation,anddatalimitationsarelessofaproblemcomparedtopreviousconsolidations.Thepreandpost-consolidationcomparisonisfocusedoneightacademicareas.Eachoftheseareasisanalyzedbelow.

1. Graduation Rate A principal finding of the Legislative Auditor’s January 2010 reportisthenegativeassociationofWestVirginia’shighschoolgraduationrate with the size of its school districts and high schools. This finding is consistentwitheducationalresearchthatrevealedanegativerelationshipbetween the size of high schools and various educational outcomes.In 1997, Kathleen Cotton, of the Northwest Regional Educational

Lincoln County was chosen because it is the most recent high school consoli-dation, and data limitations are less of a problem compared to previous con-solidations.



Laboratory,surveyed103researchstudiesspanningatimeperiodfrom1964 through 1996. The findings from Cotton’s literature survey largely supportedsmallschoolsoverlargeschoolsinmostcategories,includingthehighschoolgraduationrate.1

Howa state’shigh schoolgraduation rate shouldbecalculatedhasbeendebatedforthepastseveralyears.TheNoChildLeftBehindAct (NCLB)of2001requiredstates touse thehighschoolgraduationrateasanaccountabilityindicatorforhighschools.However,theNCLBAct originally did not specify how the calculation should be made.Consequently,statesuseddifferentformulastocalculatetheirrespectivegraduation rate. West Virginia used what is known as the CompleterFormula.Thisformulahasthetendencytooverstatethegraduationrateprimarilybecausethedropoutratewhichisusedintheformulatendstobeunderstated.Beginningwiththe2010-11schoolyear,statesarerequiredbyNCLBtousethe4-YearCohortMethodtocalculatethehighschoolgraduationrate.The4-YearCohortMethodisalongitudinalmethodthattracks9th grade students and identifies those who graduate in four years. This method is considered more reflective of the true graduation rate.

Forthisstudy,theproblemthatexistsishowtodetermineifthehighschoolgraduationrateinLincolnCountyhasbeennegativelyaffectedbythedevelopmentofthelargerconsolidatedschoolcomparedtothesmallerpre-consolidated schools. Table1 shows threemethodsof calculatingLincolnCounty’sgraduationratefortheschoolyears2003through2010.Theonlygraduationratecalculationthatisavailableforthepreandpost-consolidated years is the Completer Formula. The DOE is unable tousethe4-YearCohortmethodforthepre-consolidatedyearsbecauseofdatalimitations.AnothermethodofcalculatingthegraduationrateistheCumulativePromotionIndex(CPI)formuladevelopedbytheResearchCenteroftheEditorialProjectsinEducation.Thismethodestimatesthegraduationratebasedonthecumulativeproductofthepromotionratesfromonegradetothenext,withgraduationbeingthelastpromotionfor12thgraders.Foreachyeartherearefourgrade-promotionratiosthatarecombinedtorepresentthatyear’sgraduationrate.TheCPIformulacouldnotbeusedforthepost-consolidatedperiodfortworeasons.OneisthattheCPImethodreliesondatafromtwoseparateyears,theinitialyearofenrollmentandthefollowingyearforstudentswhowerepromotedtothenextgrade.Manystudentswhowerepromotedinthelastyearofthepre-consolidatedperiod(2005-06)enrolledinChapmanvilleHighSchoolinLoganCounty.Consequently,LincolnCountyHighSchool’s

� Kathleen Cotton, School Size, School Climate, and Student Performance, School Im-provement Research Series, Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory, �997, Port-land, OR.

West Virginia used what is known as the Completer Formula. This for-mula has the tendency to overstate the graduation rate primarily because the dropout rate which is used in the for-mula tends to be understated.

Table 1 shows three methods of calcu-lating Lincoln County’s graduation rate for the school years 2003 through 2010.

Performance Evaluation & Research Division | pg. 11


enrollmentislowerthantheaggregatenumberofstudentswhoattendedthefourhighschoolsbefore theconsolidation. ThesecondreasontheCPIcannotbeusedforthepostconsolidatedyearsisareportinganomalyof9th grade enrollment figures that the DOE was unable to resolve for thisreport.

AsTable1shows,theCompleterFormulaoverstatesthe4-YearCohortMethodby7 to10percentagepoints in twoof the threeyearsthatbothcanbeused.ForthetwoyearsthattheCompleterFormulaandtheCPIFormulacanbeusedtheCompleterFormulaoverstatestheCPIFormulaby16to23percentagepoints.ItispossiblethattheCPIMethodunderstatestheactualgraduationrate.

Table 1Methods of Calculating the High School

Graduation Rate for Lincoln County

SchoolYear CompleterFormula C u m u l a t i v ePromotionIndex 4-YearCohortMethod

2003-04 87.8% 64.8% n/a2004-05 82.8% 66.4% n/a2005-06 83.9% n/a n/a2006-07 79.3% n/a n/a2007-08 79.1% n/a 68.8%2008-09 75.6% n/a 80.4%2009-10 84.4% n/a 77.4%Source: The statistics for the Completer Formula and 4-Year Cohort Method is from the DOE. The Cumulative Promotion Index was calculated by the Legislative Auditor using DOE data.

Nevertheless,areviewofthepromotionratesofpre-consolidationstudentssuggeststhatit ishighlyunlikelythatthegraduationrateasawholeforLincolnCountywasover80percentastheCompleterFormulaindicatesforthepre-consolidatedperiod.Table2showsthecumulativepromotion rates of the four high schools that are used in the CPIcalculations.Thetableshowsthepercentageofstudentsofthepreviousgradethatwereenrolledinthenextgrade.Thedropinenrollmentinthenextgradecanbeduetostudentsbeingretainedinagrade,transferringtoanotherschoolordroppingout.Incasesinwhichtheratioisgreaterthanone,studentsmayhavetransferredinfromanotherschoolortheymayhavebeenpromotedbeyondonegrade.Asshouldbeexpected,theratiosaregenerallylowerforthe9thand10thgradesandthensteadilyriseforthe11thand12thgrades.Morestudentsrepeat9thgradethananyothergrade,accordingtoaSouthernRegionalEducationBoardreport.2Most

� Southern Regional Education Board, A Critical Mission: Making Adolescent Reading an Immediate Priority in SREB States, May �009, pp. �-�.

As Table 1 shows, the Completer For-mula overstates the 4-Year Cohort Method by 7 to 10 percentage points in two of the three years that both can be used.

Nevertheless, a review of the promo-tion rates of pre-consolidation stu-dents suggests that it is highly unlikely that the graduation rate as a whole for Lincoln County was over 80 percent as the Completer Formula indicates for the pre-consolidated period.



studentsthatreachthe12thgradearelikelytograduate,whichisrevealedinratioswellinexcessof90percent.

Table 2Cumulative Promotion Index Calculations

Lincoln County Pre-Consolidated High Schools

HighSchool

9thGradeto10thGrade

10thGradeto11thGrade

11thGradeto12thGrade

12thGradetoGraduation

CPIGraduationRateCalculation

2002-03 School YearDuval 0.697 0.688 0.857 1.026 42.1%GuyanValley 0.876 0.840 0.877 1.000 64.6%Hamlin 0.754 1.000 0.865 0.855 55.7%Harts 0.925 0.887 0.905 0.979 72.6%

2003-04 School YearDuval 0.922 0.887 1.114 0.870 79.3%GuyanValley 0.818 0.802 0.848 1.000 55.6%Hamlin 0.718 0.942 0.896 0.956 57.9%Harts 0.912 0.959 0.936 0.947 77.6%

2004-05 School YearDuval 1.039 0.747 0.982 0.959 73.1%GuyanValley 0.824 0.798 0.906 0.910 54.2%Hamlin 0.811 1.078 0.980 0.860 73.7%Harts 0.815 0.904 0.915 1.023 68.9%Source: Legislative Auditor’s analysis of DOE enrollment data.

Thecumulativepromotionmethodofestimatingthegraduationrate suggests that during the last few pre-consolidated years the highschoolgraduation ratewasatbest in the70percent range forLincolnCountyoverall.Theestimatesfromthe4-YearCohortmethodindicateLincolnCounty’shighschoolgraduationrateisbetween75and80percentsincetheconsolidation,whichislikelyanimprovementoversomeofthepre-consolidatedschoolsandthecountyoverall.Although it cannot be stated precisely that Lincoln County’s high school graduation rate has improved since the consolidation, it can be stated with reasonable assurance that it has not worsened.

2. Academic AchievementTo assess academic achievement, the Legislative Auditor

analyzed proficiency levels for 10thgradersontheWESTESTforLincolnCountypreandpost-consolidation.TheLegislativeAuditorisolatedthe10th grade proficiency levels for the pre-consolidated high schools and thestateduetothefactthat7thand8thgraderswerealsotestedinthose

The estimates from the 4-Year Cohort method indicate Lincoln County’s high school graduation rate is between 75 and 80 percent since the consolida-tion, which is likely an improvement over some of the pre-consolidated schools and the county overall.

Performance Evaluation & Research Division | pg. 1�


schools. Proficiency is the percentage of students who scored at or above Masterylevelineachsubject.TheLegislativeAuditorfocusedresearchonthemathandreadingscores.

Table 3 shows that the proficiency levels varied among the four pre-consolidatedhighschools.WiththeexceptionofHamlinHighSchool,LincolnCountyhighschoolswereconsistentlybelowstateaveragesinthe three years preceding the consolidation. Harts High School wassignificantly below state average math proficiency percentages in each yearandinreadingforthelasttwoyearsbeforeconsolidation.GuyanValley High School was also significantly below the statewide reading proficiency percentages in the last three years before consolidation. In AY2005-06,theaverage10th grade proficiency percentages of the four highschoolswere48percentinmathand56percentinreading.Theyearfollowing the consolidation saw a slight increase in proficiency levels for LincolnCountyHighSchoolcomparedtotheaverageofthefourschools.However, there was a sizable increase in percentages inAY 2007-08,bringing Lincoln County High School’s proficiency levels significantly abovethepre-consolidatedaverages,andclosertothestateaverages.

Table 3Lincoln County WESTEST Proficiency Data*

High School Subject

Pre-Consolidated High Schools Lincoln County High School

2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08

DuvalMath

Reading64%73%

63%73%

47%59%

51%58%

61%73%

Guyan Valley

MathReading

60%62%

58%62%

41%42%

HamlinMath

Reading68%91%

63%79%

69%72%

HartsMath

Reading41%75%

32%34%

34%52%

StateMath

Reading64%77%

68%75%

69%76%

68%75%

68%74%

Source: WV Department of Education Accountability Data , WV Achieves Report Card �008-�009*�0th grade data only

With the exception of Hamlin High School, Lincoln County high schools were consistently below state averages in the three years preceding the consolidation.



Since the consolidation it is clear that the larger high school has fared better on average and against a few of the individual high schools of the pre-consolidated period.

WESTEST-2 Data

InAY2008-09 theDOEbeganadministering theWESTEST-2to measure student proficiency. The content and scoring methods were morerigorous than thatof theWESTEST. Also theWESTEST-2wasadministeredto9th,10thand11thgraders.Thus,furthercomparisontothepre-consolidatedhighschoolsisnotreasonable.

Lincoln County High School is significantly below the state averages for reading and math proficiency since the incorporation of WESTEST-2.Thestateasawholehasdroppedsubstantiallysincethenas well. This is likely due to the increased difficulty of the test. The cutscoreswereraisedforthe2009-10WESTEST-2whichexplainsthelower proficiency percentages. However, the DOE noted that when the newcutscoresusedin2009-10areappliedtothe2008-09tests,LincolnCountyHighSchool’s10thgradescoreswereanimprovementin2009-10by9percentagepointsinmathand11percentagepointsinreading.

Overall,beforetheconsolidation,threeofthefourhighschoolsin Lincoln County were generally below statewide proficiency averages inmathandreading,withHartsandGuyanValleyHighSchoolsoftensignificantly below. Since the consolidation it is clear that the larger high schoolhas faredbetteronaverageandagainsta fewof the individualhighschoolsof thepre-consolidatedperiod. Therefore, theredoesnotappeartobeanynegativeaspectsjudgingfromthetestsscoresduetothehighschoolconsolidation.

Table 4Lincoln County High School WESTEST-2 Proficiency

10th Grade Proficiency

Subject 2008-092008-09 State Proficiency 2009-10*

State Proficiency*

Math 40.5% 54.5% 29.1% 38.9%Reading 28.3% 47.5% 34.3% 43.0%

Source: WV Department of Education, Improvement Report, for �008-�0. *The cut scores were raised for 2009-10 resulting in lower proficiency percentages.

3. Average Class SizeAlthoughresearchershavegenerallyfoundthatclasssizetends

toincreaseasschoolsizeincreases,itislessclearthatlargerclasssizesarenegativelyrelatedtoacademicachievement.InstudiesreviewedbyWilliamFowlerandHerbertWalberg,theresultsweremixed.Onestudyconcludedthateithermorepupilsperteacherincreasesachievementorthatnomeaningfulrelationshipexistsbetweenclasssizeandachievement.Another study found that increases in average class size may not be

Although researchers have generally found that class size tends to increase as school size increases, it is less clear that larger class sizes are negatively related to academic achievement.



detrimentaltoacademicachievementuntilitreachesacertainlevel.Thisstudyfoundthatclasssizedidnothavenegativeeffectsonachievementuntilitexceeded34studentsforelementaryclasses,32forjuniorhigh,and26forhighschools.3

Table5showsaslightincreaseinclasssizeintheconsolidatedschoolcomparedtothepre-consolidatedschoolsonaverage.Itmustbenotedthatclasssizestatisticsforthepre-consolidatedschoolsinclude7thand8th grade classes. There is insufficient evidence to determine how the non-highschoolgradesaffecttheoverallaverage,ifthereisanyaffectatall.

Table 5Average Class Size

Pre and Post Consolidation

High School

Pre-Consolidation Post Consolidation

Duval 2005-06

Guyan Valley 2005-06

Hamlin 2005-06

Harts 2005-06

Lincoln County High School

2008-09

School Avg.* 17.0 14.2 19.8 17.4 20.6Source: West Virginia Department of Education*The school average class size for Duval, Guyan, Hamlin and Harts includes 7th and 8th grade students.

4. School Bus Travel TimeA definitive impact that is attributed to Lincoln County’s high

schoolconsolidationisanincreaseinbustraveltimesforLincolnCountystudents.TheDOEhasissuedguidelinesthatencourageschooldistrictstohavebustraveltimenotexceed30minutesforelementarystudents,45minutesformiddleschoolstudentsand60minutesforhighschoolstudents. Table 6 shows that the number of students exceeding thoseguidelines increased significantly for all grade levels in Lincoln County following the consolidation, but most of the impact has been on highschoolandmiddleschoolstudents.Theactuallengthsoftimeoverthelimitrangefromafewminutestoalmostanhourdependingongradelevel.Ofthe46busroutesreportedbytheLincolnCountySchoolDistrict,30routescurrentlyexceedmaximumtraveltimeswhenaccountingforallgradelevels.Forhighschoolstudents,16busroutesinthemorningand11intheeveningexceedmaximumtraveltimes.

� William J. Fowler, Jr. and Herbert J. Walberg, School Size, Characteristics, and Out-comes, Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, Summer, �99�, Vol. ��, No. �, p. �90.

The DOE has issued guidelines that encourage school districts to have bus travel time not exceed 30 minutes for elementary students, 45 minutes for middle school students and 60 min-utes for high school students.

Table 6 shows that the number of students exceeding those guidelines increased significantly for all grade levels in Lincoln County following the consolidation, but most of the impact has been on high school and middle school students.

pg. 1� | West Virginia Legislative Auditor


Hartsareastudentswouldhaveexperiencedthelargestincreaseinbus travel timesdue to the consolidation. However, these studentswereincorporatedintothecomprehensiveeducationalfacilitiesplanforChapmanvillehighschoolinLoganCounty.Thisplanledtothecreationof the state’s first regional high school, meaning the school serves studentsfrommorethanonecounty.LincolnCounty’sinitialprojectionsofstudentsexceedingtravelguidelinesweremuchhigherthanwhat iscurrently reported. Estimates that included Harts area students wereashighas340studentsor259withouttheHartsstudents.Thecurrentnumber of students exceeding bus travel guidelines, including HartsstudentsattendingChapmanville,is116.

It should be noted that the high school figures in Table 6 include 22 HartsareastudentswhoareattendingChapmanville.InLincolnCounty’sproposaltoconsolidatethefourhighschools,theprojectedtraveltimesfor some Harts area students were up to 1 hour and 45 minutes eachwaytoLincolnCountyHighSchool.ItwasprojectedthatifHartsareastudentsattendedChapmanvilleHighSchool,nostudentswouldexceedrecommendedguidelinesandthemaximumtraveltimetoChapmanvilleHighwouldbeapproximately50minutes.However,22ofthe145Hartsarea students currently attending Chapmanville exceed the guidelines,withthemaximumtraveltimereportedbeing1hourand16minutes.

Table 6Increase in Students Exceeding Maximum Bus Travel Guidelines A.M. Runs

Academic Year High School Middle SchoolElementary

School TotalAY 2004-05 23 66 247 336AY 2009-10 116* 115 271 480

Percent Increase 404% 74% 10% 43%Source: Lincoln County School Superintendent Office*Includes �� Harts Area Students Attending Chapmanville Regional High School

The Effects of Excessive Bus Travel Requires Further Research

A 2001 Ohio University study cited school bus travel as notadequately accounted for in discussions of school consolidation andeducationingeneral. Thestudyfocusedonruralandsuburbanschoolpopulations in five states: Arkansas, Georgia, New Mexico, Pennsylvania andWashington.Thestudyfoundtherewaslittleresearchonthesubjectof the effects of school bus transportation in regards to the effects onstudents’performanceorwell-being. However, the focusof thestudywas the characteristics, similarities and differences between rural andsuburban school transportation across the five states.

A 2001 Ohio University study cited school bus travel as not adequately accounted for in discussions of school consolidation and education in gen-eral.



Themostprominent statementof the study’s recommendationscalls for more specific research on the topic stating: This study suggests that school busing is a fruitful domain to examine from a rural perspective. Very little statistically representative work has been done at either state or national levels. Thestudyalsofoundthatruralschoolswerelesslikelytostaffafull-timeTransportationDirectordedicatedtobusroutes.4 Given the immediate effect consolidation has on school bustravel times, a project-specific study on the topic should be considered indiscussionsoffutureconsolidations.Onealternativesuggestedinthestudy was to attempt to consolidate schools by combining grade spanlevels as opposed to increasing the attendance area. The feasibilityand benefits of this option could also be of consideration in any future consolidationproposalsinthestate.

5. High School Attendance RateAttendancerateshaveimprovedatLincolnCountyHighSchool

comparedtothelastyearbeforeconsolidation.From2007through2010,Lincoln County High School has maintained a higher attendance ratecomparedtothreeofthefourhighschools.Theaverageattendancerateofthefourpre-consolidatedhighschoolsin2005-06was90.6percent.Thiswaswellbelowthestateattendancerateof97.3percentthatsameyear.Forthe2009-10schoolyear,theattendancerateofLincolnCountyHighSchoolwas96percent,nearlymatchingthestateaverageof96.6percent.

Itshouldbenotedthatstateaverageattendanceratesincludeallgradelevels,kindergartenthrough12thgrade,andtheattendanceratesin2005-06includes7thand8thgradestudents.Thereisnowaytodetermineifthepresenceof7thand8thgradeattendancemisrepresentstheattendanceof the pre-consolidated high school grades. The high school studentsrepresented over 60 percent of the schools’ population, therefore, the2005-06 attendance figures are likely representative for the high school students. Table 7 below shows that it does not appear that the largerschoolhasnegativelyaffectedattendance.

4 Craig B. Howley, Aimee A. Howley and Steven Shamblen, Riding the School Bus: A Comparison of the Rural and Suburban Experience in Five States, Journal of Research in Rural Education, Spring �00�, Vol. �7, No. �, pp. 56-57, 59.

Given the immediate effect consolida-tion has on school bus travel times, a project-specific study on the topic should be considered in discussions of future consolidations.

From 2007 through 2010, Lincoln County High School has maintained a higher attendance rate compared to three of the four high schools.



Table 7Lincoln County Attendance Rates

High School

Pre-Consolidated High Schools* Lincoln County High School2005-06 School Year 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10

Duval 91.6%

92.6% 94.8% 96.0%Guyan Valley 89.9%

Hamlin 93.0%Harts 88.0%

State** 97.3% 96.4% 96.6% 96.6%Source: WV Department of Education and WV Achieves Report Cards for the years �005-�0�0.*Includes 7th and 8th grade students.**Includes all school grades.

6. Discipline Another concern of high school consolidation is how students’behaviorwillbeaffectedbyattendingalargerschool.Studiesindicatethatdisciplinaryproblemsarehigherinhighschoolswithgreaterenrollment.To assess the effect of thehigh school consolidationondiscipline theLegislativeAuditor examined the suspension rate of students pre andpost-consolidation.Table8illustratesthestudentsuspensionstatisticsinLincolnCountybeforeandaftertheconsolidation.Thedataarelimitedbythefactthat7thand8thgraderswereincludedinthepre-consolidatedhighschools.However,ifanincreaseinsuspensionswerenotedaftertheconsolidation,perhapsaconclusioncouldbemade.Asitstands,therewasnotanotableincreaseinsuspensionratesatLincolnCountyHighSchool compared to the pre-consolidated high schools. In fact, therewasadecreaseinthepercentageofstudentssuspendedthaninmostofthe individualhigh schoolspre-consolidation. It couldbe argued thattheyoungerstudentsweremorelikelytocausedisruptionsandreceivesuspensions or perhaps there are discrepancies between disciplinarypolicies between certain schools. However, no definitive relationship betweenstudentdisciplineandhighschoolconsolidationcanbeattributedinthiscaseduetothedatalimitations.

As it stands, there was not a notable increase in suspension rates at Lin-coln County High School compared to the pre-consolidated high schools.



Table 8Pre and Post Consolidation Suspensions

Pre-Consolidated High Schools* Lincoln County High School 2009-2010

2005-2006

Students Receiving In-School

Suspension

Students Receiving

Out-of-School Suspension

Students Receiving Out-

of-SchoolSuspension

14%

Students Receiving In-School

Suspension

1%

Duval 11% 17%Guyan Valley 29% 26%

Hamlin 14% 21%Harts 1% 15%

Source: West Virginia Achieves Report Cards and WV Department of Education. *Includes 7th and 8th grade students.

7. Extracurricular Activity Ofthe103researchdocumentsreviewedbyKathleenCotton,17studiedtheeffectsofschoolsizeandextracurricularparticipation.Thesestudiesconcurredthatstudentsinsmallschoolswereinvolvedinagreatervarietyofactivitiesandreceivedgreatersatisfactionthanstudentsinlargeschools, as measured by the level of involvement. One study identified thatlargeschoolsofferedmorevariedactivities,buttheaveragestudentinthelargeschooldidnottakeadvantageoftheopportunitiescomparedto students in small schools. Involvement in extracurricular activityrelatestootherdesirableoutcomes,suchaspositiveattitudesandsocialbehavior,whichmakesextracurricularactivityimportant.5

TheLincolnCountyhighschoolconsolidationhasledtoawidervarietyofextracurricularactivitiesforstudents. Table9showsthat inaddition to the activities that most of the four pre-consolidated highschoolsoffered,severalsportsandclubsthatwerenotavailableinanyof the high schools prior to consolidation are now offered at LincolnCountyHighSchool.However,dataarenotavailabletodetermineiftheparticipationrateisgreateratthelargerschoolthanatthefourindividualhighschools. AlthoughLincolnCountyHighSchoolhasmorevariedextracurricularactivitiesthatmaytranslatetoahigherparticipationratethan pre-consolidation, data are not available to confirm this.

5 Cotton, School Size, School Climate, and Student Performance, p. 7.

The Lincoln County high school con-solidation has led to a wider variety of extracurricular activities for students.



8. College PreparationDual Credit and AP Courses

An important goal of the county’s consolidation proposal wastoofferLincolnCountyhighschoolstudentswithmoredualcreditandadvanceplacement(AP)courses.Table10showsthatdualcreditcourseofferings have expanded in the consolidated high school. Dual creditcoursesimmediatelyqualifyforcollegecreditsuponpassingthecourse.Dual credit is defined in West Virginia State Code as: “a credit-bearing college-level course offered in a high school by a state institution of higher education for high school students in which the students are concurrently enrolled and receiving credit at the secondary level.” Thus, studentsreceivebothhighschoolandcollegecreditsconcurrentlyindualcreditcourses.TheDOEwasnotabletoprovidecompletedataindicatingthetotalnumberofstudentsenrolledindualcreditcoursesbecausesomeofthehighschoolsappeartohavemiscodedtheirdualcreditcourses.

Dual credit courses immediately qual-ify for college credits upon passing the course.

Performance Evaluation & Research Division | pg. 21


According to State Code, AP courses are those programsofferingclassesthatareadvancedintermsofcontentandperformanceexpectationsof thosenormallyavailable for theage/grade levelof thestudentandprovidingcredittowardgraduationandpossiblecollegecredit.Therefore,APcoursesdonotautomaticallyqualifyforcollegecreditbutcanbeeligibleafterbeingpetitionedforcreditat thehighereducationinstitution.Table11showsthattherehasbeenatradeoffofAPcoursesoffered,butnotanexpansion.Somecoursesthathadnotbeenofferedprior to consolidation (Economics,EuropeanHistory andPsychology)arenowavailable;butothercourses(StudioArt,U.S.HistoryandWorldHistory)thatwereavailablepriortoconsolidationhavenotbeenofferedbytheconsolidatedhighschool.

According to State Code, AP courses are those programs offering classes that are advanced in terms of con-tent and performance expectations of those normally available for the age/grade level of the student and provid-ing credit toward graduation and pos-sible college credit.



Table 11Advance Placement Course Offerings Pre and Post-Consolidation

Pre-Consolidation Advanced Placement Course Offerings

Post-Consolidation Advanced Placement Course Offerings

BiologyBiologyLabCalculusABEnglishLanguage&CompIEnglishLanguage&CompIIStudioArtU.S.HistoryWorldHistory

BiologyBiologyLabCalculusABEconomicsEnglishLanguage&CompIEnglishLanguage&CompIIEuropeanHistoryPsychology

Source: West Virginia Department of Education

Also, the percentage of Lincoln County high school studentstakingAPcourseshassteadilydroppedcomparedtotheindividualpre-consolidatedschoolsandthecountyaverage(seeTable12).Atthepre-consolidatedcountylevel,thepercentageofstudentstakingAPcourseswas17.6%in2004-05and11.7%in2005-06.Sincetheconsolidation,thepercentageofstudentstakingAPcourseshasdroppedeachyear,9.8%in2006-07,8.3%in2007-08,6.3%in2008-09and4.7%in2009-10.

Table 12Percentage of High School Students in AP CoursesPre-Consolidation

2005-06Post-Consolidation

2009-10Duval Guyan Valley Hamlin Harts Lincoln County High School8.2% 13.5% 0.0% 28.3% 4.7%

Source: Legislative Auditor’s analysis of Department of Education data.

College Entrance Exams

TheDOE recordsdataon four collegeentranceexams in stateschools.Takingtheseexamsisanelectivechoiceforstudents.AqualifyingscoreontheAmericanCollegeTest(ACT)andtheScholasticAptitudeTest(SAT)areprerequisitesformanyhighereducationinstitutions.ThePreliminarySAT(PSAT)isatrialrunfortheSAT.AdvancedPlacement

Also, the percentage of Lincoln County high school students taking AP courses has steadily dropped com-pared to the individual pre-consolidat-ed schools and the county average .



Tests (APT) are college level exams that can possibly count towardcollegecredit.Thereforeparticipationintheseexamsisagoodindicatorofa schoolpopulation’s interest inattendingcollege. Table13belowliststheparticipationrateforthesetestsofLincolnCountyhighschoolstudents,preandpost-consolidation.

Table 13Percentage of Students Taking College-Entrance Exams

College Testing

Pre-Consolidated High Schools* Lincoln County High School*2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09

ACT47.8%(65%)

49.5%(65%)

61.2%(64%)

59.1%(66%)

55.2%(59.8%)

53.8%(60.3%)

SAT0.5%

(19.7%)1.1%

(16.4%)0%

(17.1%)4.5%

(16.8%)5.2%

(19.5%)9.1%

(15.2%)PSAT 10th

Grade0.4%

(9.4%)1.1%

(9.1%)0%

(10.1%)0%

(9%)3.7%(9%)

44.3%(35.8%)

PSAT 11th Grade

3.2%(21%)

3.4%(20.8%)

2.9%(19.9%)

2.9%(19.5%)

5.2%(19.5%)

9.4%(18.2%)

APT 10th Grade

0%(0.3%)

1.1%(0.4%)

4%(0.1%)

0.8%(1.4%)

0%(1%)

0%(2.3%)

APT 11th Grade

6.8%(5.8%)

17.8%(9.5%)

11.5%(1.6%)

12.8%(11%)

9.4%(7.5%)

11.6%(17%)

APT 12th Grade

5.9%(8.8%)

19.6%(12.8%)

28.8%(21.7%)

19.2%(15.9%)

19.8%(9.1%)

7.2%(20%)

Source: WV Department of Education, West Virginia Achieves Report Cards from the years �00�-�009*State percentages in parentheses

Lincoln County has seen a significant increase in participation in some of these tests since the consolidation. The most significant being lowparticipationof10thgraderstakingthePSATin2005-2006comparedto44.3%in2008-2009. EmphasizingthevalueofcollegepreparationattheearlieststagesisaverypositivestepforLincolnCountystudents.Also going from zero percent, SAT participation rose to 9.1 percent.TheACTparticipation rate forLincolnCountyHighSchool has beenconsistentwithpre-consolidatedlevels.Thisisanimportantexam,asitisaprerequisiteforin-statecollegeboundstudentsinWestVirginia.

Lincoln County has seen a significant increase in participation in some of these tests since the consolidation.



Conclusion Due todata limitations in the research, theLegislativeAuditorwas unable to identify definitive relationships between high school consolidationandsomeoftheareasanalyzed.However,bustraveltimeshaving increased for all grade levels of students in Lincoln County isdirectlyaresultoftheconsolidation.Theeffectsofexcessivebustraveltimeshavenotbeenthoroughlyexaminedineducationalresearchandareanissuethatshouldbeconsideredinanyfutureconsolidationproposalsinthestate.

Students benefited from a wider selection of dual-credit, but not in APcourseofferings.Therealsoappearstobeagreateremphasisontheparticipationofcollegeentranceexamssincetheconsolidation.Studentsalso benefited from a wider selection of extracurricular activities offered aftertheconsolidation,butitcannotbedeterminedifthistranslatesintohigherparticipationlevelscomparedtopre-consolidation.

Attendancehasimprovedsincetheconsolidationanddisciplinestatistics appeared to not have been significantly affected. There has beennoobviousaberrationingraduationratessincetheconsolidation.It is likely that theconsolidationatworsedidnothaveany impactonthe graduation rate, and at best may have improved it to some extentcomparedtosomeoftheindividualpre-consolidatedschools.

Although national studies have found negative links betweenlarger schools and educational outcomes, there is no strong evidencethat thesehaveoccurred at least from theLincolnCounty experience.It ispossible thatLincolnCounty’sconsolidation inparticularhasnotresultedinahighschoolthathasexceededthesizethresholdinwhichthesedetrimentaleffectsmanifest.LincolnCountywentfromfourhighschoolsaveragingbetween200to350students,toonehighschoolwithenrollmentbetween800to900students.Dataanalyzedforthisprojectcannot definitively say that academic performance suffered due to students attendingalargerhighschool.TheLegislativeAuditorconcludesthatthehighschoolconsolidationinLincolnCountyhashadbothpositiveandnegativeeffectsoneducationaloutcomes,andinsomecasesnochangehasoccurred.Noconclusioncanbemadethatdetermineswhetherthenegativeimpactsoutweighthepositiveaspects.

Although national studies have found negative links between larger schools and educational outcomes, there is no strong evidence that these have occurred at least from the Lincoln County experience. It is possible that Lincoln County’s consolidation in particular has not resulted in a high school that has exceeded the size threshold in which these detrimental effects manifest.

The Legislative Auditor concludes that the high school consolidation in Lincoln County has had both posi-tive and negative effects on educa-tional outcomes, and in some cases no change has occurred. No conclusion can be made that determines whether the negative impacts outweigh the positive aspects.



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an examination of the effects on educational outcomes from high school consolidation

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