Most students in the United States do not meet national perfor­mance standards in math by the time they leave high school. This fact is concerning since high school math perfor­mance has a strong association with students’ academic and professional success. Students who perform well in math are more likely to graduate from high school within four years, enroll in postsecondary education, and earn higher wages once they join the labor market. It is therefore crucial to understand how to improve high school math performance, especially for students who enter high school performing below grade-level standards.

This brief presents the findings of a study that examined how students’ eighth-grade math profi­ciency affects their math performance in high school and their ability to benefit from the range of additional support services provided by reformed New York City high schools. Specifically, between 2002 and 2008, NYC Public Schools closed many large, underperforming high schools, and replaced them with over 100 small high schools to serve students in the lowest-income areas of the city. Since these schools accepted students of all academic abilities, were located mainly in disadvantaged communities, and therefore represented a realistic small school option for many students who did not previously have one, researchers called them Small Schools of Choice (SSCs).

Previous MDRC studies found that enrolling in an SSC increased students’ chances of graduating from high school within four years, enrolling in postsecondary education programs, and earning four-year postsecondary degrees. In this context, this brief aims to answer two research questions:

1. For students entering New York City high schools from 2005 to 2008, how did eighth-grade math pro­ficiency relate to their high school math performance?
    
2. Focusing specifically on the SSC reform effort, how did SSCs affect students’ math perfor­mance, and did that effect differ by eighth-grade math proficiency level?

The study finds that students demonstrated similar levels of math ability in high school as they had in the eighth grade; most students who were already proficient continued to succeed, and most students who were not proficient continued to struggle. With regard to SSC enrollment, the greater a student’s math proficiency upon entering high school, the more that SSCs boosted the student’s math performance.