Students from closed schools scored roughly one and a half months behind in reading and two months behind in math in the spring of the announcement year¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · causal r? · q3
Currency · newest study 2018 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person · overdue for a recheck since 2023: baselines and conditions change

Subclaims¶

q3 i? Students from closed schools had lower-than-expected test scores the year of the closure announcement, roughly one and a half months behind in reading and two months behind in math. → Gordon 2018

Evidence¶

Gordon 2018¶

Gordon, M.F., de la Torre, M., Cowhy, J.R., Moore, P.T., Sartain, L.S., & Knight, D. (2018). School closings in Chicago: Staff and student experiences and academic outcomes. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Consortium on School Research. https://consortium.uchicago.edu/publications/school-closings-chicago-staff-and-student-experiences-and-academic-outcomes

q3 · i? · causal · r?

Quasi-experimental comparison of students from closed schools with students in similar unaffected schools using CPS administrative data. The report states scores were "roughly one and a half months behind in reading and two months behind in math" in the announcement-year spring, despite similar fall and winter NWEA performance.

"Students' scores in the spring of the year of the announcement were roughly one and a half months behind in reading and two months behind in math."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• The math test-score gap for students from closed schools persisted for four years post-closings, while reading scores rebounded to expected levels by the second year — related
• Core GPA was not affected immediately after closures, but students from closed schools showed small negative effects in years three and four, more pronounced for students in grades 3-5 at announcement — related
• School closings reduced displaced students' reading and math achievement during the announcement year, about six months before schools actually closed — related
• Researchers have translated test scores into months of learning to claim how many months or years students are behind in school — a broader claim this one bears on
• Test scores of students in both closed and welcoming schools were negatively affected, with closed-school students showing the largest negative effect — a broader claim this one bears on
• School closings showed no statistically significant long-term effects on displaced students' reading or math achievement two and three years later — related
• Core GPA was unaffected immediately after closures, but closed-school students who were in grades 3-5 in the announcement year showed negative GPA effects three and four years post-closure — related
• One year after leaving closing schools, displaced students' reading and math achievement returned to expected levels, with no additional negative or positive effects — related