Close Bad Schools and Expand Good Ones

Close low-performing, underenrolled schools. Expand high-performing, in-demand schools.

This formula has tremendous upside. It’s what cities like New Orleans, Denver and Indianapolis have done to great success. It’s also been a key ingredient behind Florida’s climb up the state achievement rankings.

Over the past two decades, Florida has added about 230,000 students, closed 214 schools and added 1,011 new ones. This churn has undoubtedly forced some hard decisions at the local level, but it has also improved the overall quality of schools statewide.

Last year, for instance, Florida gave 1,299 of 3,451 public schools an A on their state report card. Of those A-rated schools, 192 didn’t exist ten years ago, and 483 didn’t exist twenty years ago. Last year, 47 percent of schools that predated 2004 received an A or B, compared with 69 percent of those that have opened since then.