GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN (January 28, 2025) — A recent Fordham Institute report argues that post-pandemic enrollment declines will inevitably force districts to make the controversial decision to close some schools. Embracing this possibility, the report provides dual criteria of substantial declines in enrollment and chronic low performance as indicators of which schools should be closed first, naming nearly 500 specific schools that meet the criteria.
In her review of “Underachieving and Underenrolled: Chronically Low-Performing Schools in the Post-Pandemic Era,” Sally A Nuamah of Northwestern University finds little evidence to support the report’s conclusion that closing these schools will meaningfully reduce budget deficits and improve education outcomes.
The report cherry-picks studies about school closures, discussing very little of the peer-reviewed research evidence concerning the negative impacts of school closings on affordable housing, school accessibility, racial equity, attendance, and socio-emotional health.
The report also does not include what researchers would expect in terms of a “methods” section that explains and supports the approach used. Instead, it presents some descriptive data and analyses that rely on readers embracing the authors’ assumptions and ignoring standard empirical procedures.
Finally, the report fails to account for the broader civic and social purposes of schools, including their role in providing children with food, shelter, child-care, civic learning, health-care, and social services. Nuamah also contends it ignores the potential harmful effects of closing schools in communities that have already experienced chronic disinvestment.
Nuamah concludes policymakers would do best to ignore this report, including its list of candidates for school closure. It offers an unfounded and oversimplified solution to highly-complex challenges.
Find the review, by Sally A Nuamah, at:
nepc.colorado.edu/review/school-closures
Find “Underachieving and Underenrolled: Chronically Low-Performing Schools in the Post-Pandemic Era,” written by Sofoklis Goulas and published by the Thomas B Fordham Institute, at: fordhaminstitute.org/national/research/underachieving-and-underenrolled-chronically-low-performing-schools-post-pandemic.
NEPC Reviews (nepc.colorado.edu/reviews) provide the public, policymakers, and the press with timely, academically-sound reviews of selected publications. NEPC Reviews are made possible in part by support provided by the Great Lakes Center for Education Research and Practice: greatlakescenter.org.
The National Education Policy Center (NEPC), a university research center housed at the University of Colorado Boulder School of Education, sponsors research, produces policy briefs, and publishes expert third-party reviews of think-tank reports. NEPC publications are written in accessible language and are intended for a broad audience that includes academic experts, policymakers, the media, and the general public. Our mission is to provide high-quality information in support of democratic deliberation about education policy. We are guided by the belief that the democratic governance of public education is strengthened when policies are based on sound evidence and support a multiracial society that is inclusive, kind, and just. Visit us at: nepc.colorado.edu.
The mission of the Great Lakes Center for Education Research and Practice is to support and disseminate high-quality research and reviews of research for the purpose of informing education policy and to develop research-based resources for use by those who advocate for education reform. Visit the Great Lakes Center website at GreatLakesCenter.org.
