Classroom ‘churn’ has negative effect on third grade reading scores, study finds

By Melanie Asmar | Chalkbeat Colorado

Classroom “churn” — when students leave a classroom midyear or new students join — can have a negative effect on third grade reading scores, according to a new study that examined Colorado census and state standardized test data.

The study, by researchers at the Colorado Futures Center at Colorado State University, found that higher classroom churn was correlated with lower third grade reading scores, based on data from 2019. It’s a trend that the center’s executive director and lead economist, Phyllis Resnick, suspects has ramped up since that year, as schools experience higher levels of chronic absenteeism after the pandemic and struggle to make up for lost learning.

After the study revealed that finding, Resnick said she spoke to one teacher who had 40 different students cycle in and out of 20 seats in her classroom in a single year.

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