Chapter 11: Closing Costs: Examining the Impact of School Closures on African-American Students’ Educational Outcomes

School closures result in changing schools and student mobility is associated with a negative impact on educational outcomes unless students switch to higher quality schools. Given the prevalence of school closures in urban cities with high concentrations of low-income and minority students, the effects of student mobility due to school closures is an important issue with substantial education and social equity policy implications. This chapter provides a comprehensive review of the empirical evidence on the impact of student mobility due to school closures on African American students’ cognitive (for e.g., test scores) and noncognitive (for e.g., social and emotional well-being) outcomes. It describes the prevalence of school closure-related student mobility and examines the choices and constraints involved in enrolling in a new school. It then details the impact of these school changes on educational outcomes. The effects of school closures from the perspective of receiving schools (for e.g., challenges for school personnel and teachers) are also explicated. Empirical evidence from post-Katrina New Orleans on whether the lowest performing schools in a portfolio district are closed complements the integrative review of the extant literature on school closures. The chapter concludes with a discussion of how education policy may mitigate some of the disruptive effects associated with student mobility related to school closures and directions for future research.