COVID-19 Disruptions and Choice: Student Movement and Academic Outcomes in Indiana During the Pandemic

Faced with, nearly all U.S. schools transitioned to remote instruction in March 2020. The following year, the majority of public schools remained closed, but most Catholic schools offered in-person learning. In Indiana, many parents had addi- tional opportunity to switch to a private school for in-person instruction. We examine student and school administrative data to consider movement between sectors and achievement out- comes for students moving to Catholic schools compared to matched peers in their previous public schools. Students who moved to in-person instruction in a Catholic school during this time fared better academically than those remaining in their previous public school.