Climbing the College Ladder? The Effects of the New Orleans School Reforms on the Quality and Fit of Colleges That Students Attended

This quasi-experimental study investigates the impact of educational reforms in New Orleans post-Hurricane Katrina, focusing on college entry rates, college persistence rates, and the quality of institutions attended by students. Using data spanning 2001 to 2016, the authors compare these student outcomes before and after the reforms.They find that the reforms were associated with an increase in the enrollment of students in four-year colleges and enrollment in higher-quality colleges. However, college persistence rates remained unchanged. The findings underscore the reforms' continued effectiveness in enhancing post-secondary educational opportunities for New Orleans students. This study was conducted by the Education Research Alliance for New Orleans.