The Direct and Indirect Effects of Closing Schools on Students' Educational Settings: Evidence From Philadelphia

• In Event: Roundtable Session 21
  In Roundtable Session: Effects of Neoliberal Educational Reform on Students and Parents

Abstract

This paper examines the consequences that closing underperforming public schools in Philadelphia had on the quality of public school options for relocated students and their receiving peers. Relying on difference-in-differences and instrumental variables strategies, we estimate the effect of school closures on the composition of schools receiving displaced students compared with schools having never received any displaced students. We find that closure-induced mobility led to improvements in the academic settings experienced by displaced students, with some educational costs borne by receiving students. This work should inform the national policy discussion on the design and role of school closure policies in improving the educational opportunities for among the most disadvantaged urban public school students.

Authors

• Matthew Philip Steinberg, University of Pennsylvania

• John MacDonald, University of Pennsylvania

• Janie Scull, University of Pennsylvania