| This dissertation consists of three self-contained chapters. The first chapter investigates the effects of school closings in Michigan on student achievement. Many school districts across the country are shutting schools, but school closing policies remain a very controversial issue. This study investigates the effects of school closing policies on student achievement by examining over 200 school closings in Michigan. Relative to the previous literature, the analysis uses a broader set of school closings to thoroughly investigate heterogeneity in treatment effects based on the performance level of the closed school. The results indicate that, on average, school closings in Michigan did no persistent harm to the achievement of displaced students. Moreover, students displaced from relatively low-performing schools experience achievement gains. The displacement of students and teachers creates modest negative spillover effects on the receiving schools, however. Hence, the closing of low-performing schools may generate some achievement gains for displaced students, but not without imposing spillover effects on a large number of students in receiving schools.;The second chapter examines the effects of a shortened school year policy on student achievement. Changing the length of the school year has dramatic potential effects for student achievement, but the magnitude of these effects will depend on the extent to which parents and teachers respond to the policy change. This study examines student achievement in Hawaiian public schools, which furloughed teachers on 17 Fridays during the 2009-2010 school year. This policy was well-publicized in advance, allowing time for parents and teachers to adjust their behavior. Using multiple specifications and identification strategies, the study finds negative effects from the school furlough policy on student achievement in elementary school. The analysis finds no effects on achievement in middle and high school, however.;The final chapter, co-authored with Seth Gershenson and Michael Hayes, looks at teacher grade reassignments in elementary schools. While recent research suggests that grade-level reassignments play an important role in fostering student achievement, the literature on teacher turnover and attrition has largely ignored the reassignment of teachers within schools. We seek to fill this gap using teacher-level micro data from Michigan to document the prevalence and distribution of grade-level reassignments across different types of schools and teachers. We find that inexperienced teachers and teachers who are new to their school are less likely to switch grades. The results also suggest that the disruptions associated with within-school teaching reassignments are inequitably distributed across schools and students. Urban schools, schools with higher attrition rates, and schools with higher concentrations of minorities have significantly higher rates of grade switching. |
