The effect of school closures on student outcomes

A study by Kemple and colleagues, published in Education Next, examined the effect of school closures on student outcomes, and found that students generally fared better in new schools.

The researchers looked at 29 school closures begun between 2003 and 2009 in New York City. Specifically, the schools were low-performing high schools that were closed as part of a secondary-school reform initiative.

A total of 20,600 affected students were analyzed: 9th-grade students who chose to stay after a closure announcement, 9th graders who transferred elsewhere, and rising 9th graders required to attend different high schools because of a closure. Data included academic performance, attendance, and graduation rates.

According to the article, findings showed that for students already enrolled in a school that was later closed, the phase-out process did not have a systematic impact, positive or negative, on their attendance or academic performance. However, for rising 9th-grade students, the closure of a school they otherwise planned to attend led them to enroll in somewhat higher-performing high schools and increased their likelihood of graduating.

Overall, Kemple says that, “More research is needed to understand how school closures affect factors like teacher performance, student and staff morale, and family engagement over time. Our findings, however, suggest that high school closures in New York City during this particular period produced meaningful benefits for future students while not harming, at least academically, the students most immediately affected by them.”