Abstract
Purpose. The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which student mobility affected mastery of reading skills in grades one through three as measured by a performance-based assessment criterion. Methodology. The study utilized descriptive research methodology. Four hundred thirty-four first- through third-grade students were randomly selected from the San Bernardino Unified School District for the study. Information from the student's records and the district's database were analyzed by the use of the Chi Square Test of Independent Samples. This information included the number of moves, ethnicity, sex, grade, free lunch status, and reading performance level of the students surveyed. Findings. (1) The greater the number of residential moves made by a student, the lower the reading performance was likely to be. First graders were affected the most. (2) With regard to gender, a highly significant difference was found to exist with female students. (3) Of the four ethnic groups, only Hispanic students were significantly impacted by high mobility. (4) It was found that five or more moves made a significantly greater impact, resulting in lower scores in a child's reading performance levels. (5) Using "free lunch" status as a socioeconomic indicator, a highly dependent difference in reading level was found to exist. "Free lunch" students scored significantly lower than those not receiving "free lunch." Conclusions and recommendations. High mobility affects a child's ability to learn. Students in the first grade, girls, and Hispanics are impacted the most by high mobility. Although students from lower socioeconomic families had poorer achievement scores, mobility can impact students independent of economics. These findings suggest the following recommendations for school districts: (1) Performance assessment should be part of a district's assessment process; (2) in highly mobile schools, early intervention is critical, (3) districts should continue and expand services to preschool students; (4) coordinated, community intervention for young children is vital and should continue; (5) future studies of mobility should examine the degree of poverty as well as the level of mobility; (6) districts should develop and monitor stability as well as mobility statistics.