Using Centralized Assignment to Boost Enrollment and Manage School Closures

This research investigates the causal effects of school capacity and school closures on student enrollments, school attendance, and learning in US public schools, using a combination of innovative economic theory and sophisticated statistical methods. Public school enrollments have been declining across the US, especially in large urban school districts. This research aims to provide school districts with new evidence on the causal effects of changes in school capacity and school closures. Its results will provide important inputs into school closure policies across US school districts and help to establish the US as a global leader in school district reforms. The first part of the project investigates the effects of match parameters, such as the school capacities specified under centralized assignment, on enrollment. Unlike previous investigations of this question that rely on ad hoc simulations, this project uses recent theoretical advances from the field of market design to derive analytic results that can guide capacity management and closure decisions. The second part of the project examines capacity and closure effects on student learning and human capital as reflected in test scores, graduation, and college attendance. Project results will help school districts increase enrollment, boost in-district retention, and improve education outcomes. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.