Many research studies, some highlighted here, have shown that merging schools does not improve educational outcomes; but, in fact, is detrimental to student achievement. In this post, we analyze the data from the OESJ merger. Test scores show that merging did not improve student achievement.

The Oppenhiem-Ephratah and St. Johnsville Central School Districts merged in 2014 to form the new OESJ School District. In the previous post: What about OESJ and CVA?, the data convincingly shows that merging did not lead to lower school taxes or to improved enrollment trends or dropout rates. But what about educational performance? Does the local data indicate that merging schools improves student achievement? In this post we are presenting data from the School Report Cards available on data.nysed.gov. We are highlighting data from the Grade 4, Grade 8, and Regents ELA Cohort tests to determine the local effect of school consolidation on student performance. These specific grade levels and tests were chosen because they are available every year since 2011, and therefore provide information from before, during and after the merger. They also cover the full educational experience of elementary, middle and high school.

Like in the previous post, we are sharing data from the two schools before the merger, and from OESJ after the merger. We compare those scores to the scores from Canajoharie and Fort Plain to show the effect of the merger on student performance. The research question is: did the schools that merged have a different trajectory from the schools that did not merge? These comparisons between districts are important because the tests themselves are not consistent year to year. It generally would not be valid to look at a string of scores from a single district to determine whether that district is improving or declining. But when comparing across districts, you can establish valid results on comparative trends.

Data is available on the Grade 4 ELA exam for every year since 2011, with the single exception of the 2019/2020 year that was disrupted by Covid. The chart below compares the percentage of students that were determined to be “proficient” in the exam for each school in each year.

Result: When comparing OESJ with Canajoharie and Fort Plain, there is no evidence of improved performance for OESJ students after the merger. Canajoharie had better scores in 7 of the 11 years post merger, and Fort Plain for 6 out of 11. In other words, the schools that did not merge outperformed the merged OESJ school district.

Now for the Grade 8 ELA results. The chart below compares the percentage of students that were determined to be “proficient” in the exam for each school in each year.

Result: The Grade 8 results are even more convincing. Canajoharie had better scores in 10 of the 11 years post merger, and Fort Plain for 8 out of 11. In other words, the schools that did not merge consistently outperformed the merged OESJ school district.

Finally, we have the cohort Regents ELA exam results.

Results: Again, the merged school had lower achievement than the schools that did not merge. Canajoharie had better scores in 9 of the 11 years post merger, and Fort Plain for 6 out of 11.

Merger supporters keep telling us – without producing any evidence – that merging schools will improve our kids’ futures. The actual evidence, from dozens of peer reviewed research studies, and from our own local experience, is that merging schools damages students’ futures. There is no evidence that merging schools will produce educational benefits for students.