Many research studies, and the data from the OESJ merger, 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 CVA merger. Test scores show that merging does not improve student achievement.

The Ilion and Mohawk Central School Districts merged in 2014 to form the new Central Valley (CVA) 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 CVA after the merger. We compare those scores to the scores from Herkimer Central School to show the effect of the merger on student performance. Herkimer was part of the CVA merger study and process, but chose not to merge. 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 by comparing across districts, you can establish valid results on comparative trends.

Data is available on the Regents cohort 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: In all six instances before the merger, Herkimer’s performance lagged behind that of Ilion and Mohawk. After the merger, Herkimer scored higher than CVA twice, was equal once and was only one point lower in a fourth year. In other words, the school that did not merge improved its performance in comparison to the school that did merge. Contrary to the false claims made by merger supporters, the merger failed to improve CVA’s students’performance,

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: In the Grade 8 data, Herkimer achieved a higher score than Ilion/Mohawk twice in the 6 instances before the merger. After the merger, Herkimer scored higher than CVA in 6 out of 11 years. In other words, the school that did not merge improved its performance in reference to the schools that did merge. Merging schools had a detrimental effect on student achievement.

Finally, we have the Grade 4 ELA exam results. These are even more interesting and impactful.

Results: Herkimer achieved higher scores in 3 of 6 instances before the merger, but in only 3 of 11 after. In other words, it appears, in this data set, that merging schools improved CVA’s performance. But the CVA merger did NOT merge the Elementary schools! Each community maintained its own Elementary school. Elementary students were not subjected to the disruption of combining schools, increased bussing, and larger school size. They got to stay in their smaller, local schools. So while CVA’s performance was hurt for the middle and high school students that experienced the merger; and was improved for the elementary students that did not directly experience the merger.

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. Merging schools does NOT improve students’ futures!