School closures in Chile: access to quality alternatives in a school choice system

Abstract

In this paper, we analyze the schooling alternatives of families that could face school closure. This article identifies, characterizes, and georeferences the institutions classified as low-performing by the SEP Law along with their closest alternatives. The findings indicate that a significant number of families do not have any quality alternatives nearby, particularly families in rural areas and/or in schools with a high percentage of low SES students. Additionally, when admissions barriers and family preferences are incorporated in the analysis, school alternatives are considerably reduced. Alternatives are further reduced when using a more stringent definition of school quality.