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Every year, 80,000 eighth graders have a big decision to make -- where do they want to go to high school? And giving them that choice is a big part of Mayor Michael Bloomberg's school reforms. The city's also expanding their choices by opening dozens of small schools every year. The big question has been whether small schools do a better job than the large high schools they're replacing. A comprehensive report by MDRC now says, for many students, they do.

"We found what we are think are pretty significant increases in the percent of children who are on track to graduate as measured in the ninth grade. There is a 10 percentage point difference between the students who got the opportunity to enroll in a small school and the students who were the control group, or comparison group, who weren't able to enroll there because the schools were oversubscribed," said President MDRC President Gordon Berlin.

Food and Finance High School is one of those new small schools. It has a much higher graduation rate than the school it replaced. Principal Roger Turgeon, who used to work at the old school, Park West High, says now that six smaller schools that have taken over the building, it's much harder for students to fall through the cracks.

'We get to know students needs and it allows us to be able to provide students with the services and the things that they need," Turgeon said.

Opening so many new schools at once wasn't cheap. A lot of the money came from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, who also helped fund this study. For the mayor and Schools Chancellor Joel Klein, it was also a big risk to change the system so dramatically.

"I think it's a very good study. I think the methodology is strong. And I think it is good news for the Klein administration. I think there is no question that tens of thousands of kids have graduated from high school who wouldn't have without the small schools," said Clara Hemphill of The New School's Center for New York City Affairs.

The study is tracking four classes of students as they progress through high school. But so far, it includes only one graduating class, so educators will be watching closely over the next three years as the numbers evolve.