Academic impacts of closures hinge on the quality of receiving schools, and fewer than half of displaced students transfer to higher-performing schools¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · associational r2 · q2
Currency · newest study 2025 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? The review reports that displaced students' academic outcomes depend on whether they enroll in better educational environments. → Isaacs 2025 q2 i? The review reports, citing Han et al. (2017), that fewer than half of displaced students transfer to higher-performing schools. → Isaacs 2025 (2)

Evidence¶

Isaacs 2025¶

Isaacs, J., Kuhfeld, M., Postell, S., & Hashim, A. (2025). Post-Pandemic School Closure Trends: Schools Serving Black Students Disproportionately Closed. NWEA White Paper. https://www.nwea.org/research/publication/post-pandemic-school-closure-trends-schools-serving-black-students-disproportionately-closed/

q2 · i? · associational · r2

Narrative review of prior closure research: several studies document negative consequences for displaced students, while others (Carlson & Lavertu, 2016; Bross et al., 2016) report improvements when students gain access to higher-performing schools.

"Multiple studies emphasized that academic outcomes hinge on whether displaced students enroll in better educational environments (Engberg et al., 2012; Han et al., 2017)."

Isaacs 2025 (2)¶

Isaacs, J., Kuhfeld, M., Postell, S., & Hashim, A. (2025). Post-Pandemic School Closure Trends: Schools Serving Black Students Disproportionately Closed. NWEA White Paper. https://www.nwea.org/research/publication/post-pandemic-school-closure-trends-schools-serving-black-students-disproportionately-closed/

q2 · i? · associational · r2

The review attributes this national finding to Han et al. (2017), noting it limits closures' potential as an improvement strategy; positive cases like New York City high-school closures (Kemple, 2015) are described as "more exception than rule."

"National analyses reveal that fewer than half of displaced students actually transfer to higher-performing schools, limiting the potential for closures to serve as an effective improvement strategy (Han et al., 2017)."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Displaced students in receiving schools with high student-teacher trust and teacher personal attention showed larger reading and math gains than those in low-support schools — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• In an urban district facing shrinking enrollment, student achievement was incorporated as a factor in deciding which schools to close, and the study examined whether student outcomes depended on which schools were closed — related
• Officials raised equity concerns that closing low-performing charter schools may not better serve students when alternative district schools perform even worse — related
• Two-thirds of reenrolled displaced students attended their designated welcoming school, with rates varying from 6 to 90 percent across closed schools — related
• Turnaround schools generally served the same students after reform, except Closure and Restart schools, which shifted toward more advantaged, higher-achieving students — related
• Displaced students in the highest-achieving receiving schools gained about a month in reading and over two months in math above expectations, while those in the weakest schools lost achievement — possibly the same claim (merge candidate)