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Did COVID Affect Middle School Choice? Distance, Transportation and the Zoned School. Technical Report

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Title: Did COVID Affect Middle School Choice? Distance, Transportation and the Zoned School. Technical Report
Language: English
Authors: Jeff Zabel, Samantha Trajkovski, Sarah A. Cordes, Amy Ellen Schwartz, National Center for Research on Education Access and Choice (REACH)
Source: National Center for Research on Education Access and Choice. 2025.
Availability: National Center for Research on Education Access and Choice. 1555 Poydras Street Suite 700, New Orleans, LA 70112. Tel: 870-540-6576; e-mail: info@reachcentered.org; Web site: https://reachcentered.org/
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 45
Publication Date: 2025
Sponsoring Agency: Institute of Education Sciences (ED)
Contract Number: R305SC180025
Document Type: Reports - Research
Education Level: Junior High Schools
Middle Schools
Secondary Education
Elementary Education
Grade 6
Intermediate Grades
Descriptors: COVID-19, Pandemics, Middle School Students, School Choice, Grade 6, School Closing, In Person Learning, Educational Quality, Student Characteristics, Proximity, Bus Transportation, Student Transportation, Eligibility, Institutional Characteristics
Geographic Terms: New York (New York)
Abstract: There is growing evidence of a negative impact of COVID-19 on the academic performance of school-aged children and a widening of racial/SES disparities. The promise of school choice to reduce these disparities relied, to some extent, on the willingness and ability of families, particularly poor families, to choose better -- or better matched -- schools other than their zoned neighborhood school, their default. Unfortunately, COVID-19 may have reduced this willingness or ability to travel, or to investigate, choose, and attend schools outside their community. Given well-documented differences in the location of and access to high quality schools by race/ethnicity and income, such changes could have important consequences for educational inequality. This paper examines the middle school choices of 6th grade students in New York City before the COVID-19 Pandemic and after schools reopened focusing on changes in, school quality and demographics, distance to school, and eligibility for school busing. We begin by examining the choice to attend the default (zoned) middle school, rather than other potential choices, and then investigate the school and student characteristics that drive the choice of school among these alternatives, including eligibility for transportation. Our results indicate that after COVID, students traveled slightly farther to school and also attended a wider variety of schools. There was little difference in the importance of various school characteristics for predicting attendance at a students' 6th grade zoned school before and after the pandemic. One exception to this is eligibility for the school bus, which significantly increased the probability of enrollment at both zoned and choice/charter schools after the COVID pandemic.
Abstractor: As Provided
IES Funded: Yes
Entry Date: 2026
Accession Number: ED678943
Database: ERIC
FullText Text:
  Availability: 0
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  Data: Did COVID Affect Middle School Choice? Distance, Transportation and the Zoned School. Technical Report
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Jeff+Zabel%22">Jeff Zabel</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Samantha+Trajkovski%22">Samantha Trajkovski</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Sarah+A%2E+Cordes%22">Sarah A. Cordes</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Amy+Ellen+Schwartz%22">Amy Ellen Schwartz</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22National+Center+for+Research+on+Education+Access+and+Choice+%28REACH%29%22">National Center for Research on Education Access and Choice (REACH)</searchLink>
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  Data: National Center for Research on Education Access and Choice. 1555 Poydras Street Suite 700, New Orleans, LA 70112. Tel: 870-540-6576; e-mail: info@reachcentered.org; Web site: https://reachcentered.org/
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  Data: 45
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  Data: 2025
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="EL" term="%22Junior+High+Schools%22">Junior High Schools</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="EL" term="%22Middle+Schools%22">Middle Schools</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="EL" term="%22Secondary+Education%22">Secondary Education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="EL" term="%22Elementary+Education%22">Elementary Education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="EL" term="%22Grade+6%22">Grade 6</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="EL" term="%22Intermediate+Grades%22">Intermediate Grades</searchLink>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22COVID-19%22">COVID-19</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Pandemics%22">Pandemics</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Middle+School+Students%22">Middle School Students</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22School+Choice%22">School Choice</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Grade+6%22">Grade 6</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22School+Closing%22">School Closing</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22In+Person+Learning%22">In Person Learning</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Educational+Quality%22">Educational Quality</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Student+Characteristics%22">Student Characteristics</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Proximity%22">Proximity</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Bus+Transportation%22">Bus Transportation</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Student+Transportation%22">Student Transportation</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Eligibility%22">Eligibility</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Institutional+Characteristics%22">Institutional Characteristics</searchLink>
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  Label: Geographic Terms
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22New+York+%28New+York%29%22">New York (New York)</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
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  Data: There is growing evidence of a negative impact of COVID-19 on the academic performance of school-aged children and a widening of racial/SES disparities. The promise of school choice to reduce these disparities relied, to some extent, on the willingness and ability of families, particularly poor families, to choose better -- or better matched -- schools other than their zoned neighborhood school, their default. Unfortunately, COVID-19 may have reduced this willingness or ability to travel, or to investigate, choose, and attend schools outside their community. Given well-documented differences in the location of and access to high quality schools by race/ethnicity and income, such changes could have important consequences for educational inequality. This paper examines the middle school choices of 6th grade students in New York City before the COVID-19 Pandemic and after schools reopened focusing on changes in, school quality and demographics, distance to school, and eligibility for school busing. We begin by examining the choice to attend the default (zoned) middle school, rather than other potential choices, and then investigate the school and student characteristics that drive the choice of school among these alternatives, including eligibility for transportation. Our results indicate that after COVID, students traveled slightly farther to school and also attended a wider variety of schools. There was little difference in the importance of various school characteristics for predicting attendance at a students' 6th grade zoned school before and after the pandemic. One exception to this is eligibility for the school bus, which significantly increased the probability of enrollment at both zoned and choice/charter schools after the COVID pandemic.
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  Data: 2026
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  Data: ED678943
PLink https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=eric&AN=ED678943
RecordInfo BibRecord:
  BibEntity:
    Languages:
      – Text: English
    PhysicalDescription:
      Pagination:
        PageCount: 45
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: COVID-19
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Pandemics
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Middle School Students
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: School Choice
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Grade 6
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: School Closing
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: In Person Learning
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Educational Quality
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Student Characteristics
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Proximity
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Bus Transportation
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Student Transportation
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Eligibility
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Institutional Characteristics
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: New York (New York)
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: Did COVID Affect Middle School Choice? Distance, Transportation and the Zoned School. Technical Report
        Type: main
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            NameFull: National Center for Research on Education Access and Choice (REACH)
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            NameFull: Jeff Zabel
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            NameFull: Samantha Trajkovski
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            – D: 01
              M: 09
              Type: published
              Y: 2025
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            – TitleFull: National Center for Research on Education Access and Choice
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