Military deployments and children's academic achievement: Evidence from Department of Defense Education Activity Schools

Household disruptions – such as divorce, relocation, and parental absence – have long concerned researchers interested in the educational attainment of children. Here, we consider a plausible source of exogenous variation in work-related parental absences—military deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan in the 2002–2005 period. Combining the standardized test scores of children enrolled in Defense Department schools with their military parent's personnel data, we evaluate the effect of a soldier's deployment on the academic achievement of his or her children. We find that deployments have modest adverse effects in most academic subjects, with lengthy deployments and deployments during the month of testing associated with the largest detrimental effects. Evidence also suggests that these adverse effects may persist for several years.