Mathematica Study on KIPP Middle Schools

To understand our impact and communicate it to the public, KIPP has commissioned Mathematica Policy Research to conduct a robust, national, third-party evaluation that will examine how KIPP students fare over the long term. The Atlantic Philanthropies, the Laura and John Arnold Foundation, and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation provided the lead support for the Mathematica evaluation of KIPP middle schools.

On June 22, 2010, Mathematica released its initial findings in the most rigorous report to date on KIPP middle schools.Researchers collected multiple years of data for students from 22 KIPP middle schools, along with data from students in non-KIPP public schools in nearby districts.

Using these data, Mathematica researchers were able to compare:

1. Characteristics for KIPP and non-KIPP students
2. State assessment outcomes for KIPP students and a set of matched, non-KIPP students from the nearby districts who were similar in terms of demographics, achievement levels, and prior-achievement growth trajectories.

Based on their analysis, Mathematica found that:

• KIPP schools most often enroll students whose average fourth-grade achievement is lower than the average achievement of students in local district schools.
• KIPP schools typically have a positive, statistically significant, and educationally substantial impact on student achievement. Within two years after entering KIPP, students are experiencing statistically significant, positive gains in 18 of the 22 KIPP schools in math and in 15 of out of 22 KIPP schools in reading.
• Academic gains at many KIPP schools are large enough to substantially reduce race-based and income-based achievement gaps. In three years, one half of all KIPP schools in the study closed one half or more of the black-white achievement gap in math, and one third of the black-white achievement gap in reading.
• There is no evidence that KIPP schools have systematically higher levels of attrition when compared to district schools.

The next Mathematica report on KIPP will be released in 2012.

Mathematica Report on KIPP Middle Schools:

• Executive Summary
• Full report
• One-page fact sheet 
• Q&A sheet
• Mathematica website

Media Resources:

• Houston Chronicle- "Study supports KIPP success; Review shows school isn't gaming system"
• EdWeek- "KIPP Middle Schools Found to Spur Learning Gains"

©2012 KIPP