@EdWorkingPaper{ai25-1318,
title = "What is the impact of changing schools on the academic outcomes of elementary and middle school students?",
author = "Cassandra Guarino, Yiwang Li, Lucrecia Santibanez, Hana Kang, Robert K. Ream",
institution = "Annenberg Institute at Brown University",
number = "1318",
year = "2025",
month = "October",
URL = "http://www.edworkingpapers.com/ai25-1318",
abstract = {We study how different kinds of school changes shape achievement in grades 4–8 using data from six California districts (2016–17 through 2019–20). We estimate the effects of structural (promotional), nonstructural summer, and midyear moves and find that structural and summer moves have near-zero effects on ELA and math, while midyear moves lower ELA by 0.073 SD and math by 0.083 SD. Midyear impacts hinge on destination quality: moves to lower-achieving schools produce steep losses, whereas moves to higher-achieving schools close the gap and can even raise achievement above their stayer counterparts. Midyear effects are most negative for students in middle school and for students with disabilities, English learners, low-income, and homeless students. We find minimal fade-out effects.},
}