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The effects of closing urban schools on students’ academic and behavioral outcomes: Evidence from Philadelphia

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  • Steinberg, Matthew P.
  • MacDonald, John M.

Abstract

Urban districts throughout the country are increasingly closing schools in response to declining enrollment and academic underperformance. We estimate the impact of public school closings in Philadelphia on student achievement and behavioral outcomes. While school closures had no effect on the average achievement of displaced students, achievement increased among displaced students attending higher-performing schools following closure. The achievement of students attending receiving-schools, however, was negatively affected by the receipt of displaced students. School absences increased significantly for displaced students following closure. We also find that the achievement of displaced and receiving-school students declined as the fraction of displaced students attending a receiving-school increased, and displaced students missed more days of school and received more suspension days the farther they traveled to their new school following closure. These findings suggest that the academic and behavioral consequences of closing urban schools depend on the school settings displaced and receiving-school students experience in the wake of closures.

Suggested Citation

  • Steinberg, Matthew P. & MacDonald, John M., 2019. "The effects of closing urban schools on students’ academic and behavioral outcomes: Evidence from Philadelphia," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 25-60.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecoedu:v:69:y:2019:i:c:p:25-60
    DOI: 10.1016/j.econedurev.2018.12.005
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Jacobson, Louis S & LaLonde, Robert J & Sullivan, Daniel G, 1993. "Earnings Losses of Displaced Workers," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 83(4), pages 685-709, September.
    2. Louis S. Jacobson & Robert J. LaLonde & Daniel G. Sullivan, 1993. "Long-term earnings losses of high-seniority displaced workers," Economic Perspectives, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, vol. 17(Nov), pages 2-20.
    3. Engberg, John & Gill, Brian & Zamarro, Gema & Zimmer, Ron, 2012. "Closing schools in a shrinking district: Do student outcomes depend on which schools are closed?," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 71(2), pages 189-203.
    4. Brummet, Quentin, 2014. "The effect of school closings on student achievement," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 108-124.
    5. Cory Koedel & Mark Ehlert & Eric Parsons & Michael Podgursky, 2012. "Selecting Growth Measures for School and Teacher Evaluations," Working Papers 1210, Department of Economics, University of Missouri.
    6. Matthew P. Steinberg & Morgaen L. Donaldson, 2016. "The New Educational Accountability: Understanding the Landscape of Teacher Evaluation in the Post-NCLB Era," Education Finance and Policy, MIT Press, vol. 11(3), pages 340-359, Summer.
    7. Hanushek, Eric A. & Kain, John F. & Rivkin, Steven G., 2004. "Disruption versus Tiebout improvement: the costs and benefits of switching schools," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(9-10), pages 1721-1746, August.
    8. Carlson, Deven & Lavertu, Stéphane, 2016. "Charter school closure and student achievement: Evidence from Ohio," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 31-48.
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    Cited by:

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    2. Taghizadeh, Jonas Larsson, 2020. "Effects of school closures on displaced students and future cohorts," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    3. Maria Pia Iocco, 2024. "Impact of school closures on academic performance: Evidence from Chile," Working Paper Series 0524, Department of Economics, University of Sussex Business School.
    4. Taghizadeh, Jonas Larsson, 2020. "Are students in receiving schools hurt by the closing of low-Performing schools? Effects of school closures on receiving schools in Sweden 2000–2016," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    5. Thurston Domina & Deven Carlson & James Carter & Matthew Lenard & Andrew McEachin & Rachel Perera, 2021. "The Kids on the Bus: The Academic Consequences of Diversity‐Driven School Reassignments," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 40(4), pages 1197-1229, September.
    6. Damm, Anna Piil & Mattana, Elena & Nielsen, Helena Skyt, 2022. "Effects of school displacement on academic achievement and wellbeing of ethnic minorities," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    7. Mona Förtsch, 2024. "Local High School Closures and Voter Turnout: Evidence from East German Municipalities," ifo Working Paper Series 411, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich.
    8. Xie, Gang & Zhang, Lei, 2022. "Effects of school closure on household labor supply: Evidence from rural China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    9. Steinberg, Matthew P. & Ukert, Benjamin & MacDonald, John M., 2019. "Schools as places of crime? Evidence from closing chronically underperforming schools," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 125-140.
    10. João Lourenço Marques & Muhammad Tufail & Jan Wolf & Mara Madaleno, 2021. "Population Growth and the Local Provision of Services: The Role of Primary Schools in Portugal," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 40(2), pages 309-335, April.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    School closings; Urban school reform; Achievement; Behavior; Spillovers;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I20 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - General
    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education
    • I28 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Government Policy

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