Fancy algorithms that try to match kids to the 'perfect' school aren't nearly as effective as just shutting down the bad ones.
March 25, 2026
Original Paper
Who Gets What in Education: Can School Matching Improve Student Achievement?
SSRN · 6464821
The Takeaway
Education policy often focuses on 'matching' to get the right child into the right seat. This study found that simply replacing failing schools with average ones produces similar gains with less disruption, and that basic graduation rates are just as effective as complex mathematical models at picking which schools to shut down.
From the abstract
We examine two approaches to improving urban school systems: changing who gets to go to existing schools (reallocation) and restructuring school portfolios through closures and reconstitution (resource augmentation). Using data from New York City high schools, we estimate models of school effects allowing for both vertical school quality differences and horizontal student-specific match effects. While sophisticated reallocation policies that optimize studentschool matches can generate modest edu