Effects of School Closures on Displaced Students and Future Cohorts

This article investigates the effects of school closures on student achievement. In contrast to previous studies that have primarily analyzed displaced students, this study also takes into account subsequent cohorts who would have attended the closed schools had they remained open. Furthermore, the study is one of the first of its kind outside the US and utilizes more detailed registry data on school quality than previous studies. The effects are investigated through a quasiexperimental study of all public middle school closures in Sweden from 2000 to 2012 utilizing family fixed effects. The results suggest that overall, the closures had no effects on student achievement. Contrary to theoretical expectations, the effects on subsequent cohorts were similar to the effects on displaced students, and the extensive Swedish school voucher system did not seem to direct displaced students to higher-quality schools