The following contains spoilers for Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths #5, on sale now from DC Comics.
Dark Crisis is jam-packed with elements from every corner of the DC Universe. With the Justice League dead and the next generation thrust into the limelight, that means that the Titans have taken on a lot of responsibility. The first couple of issues saw their Teen Titans Academy destroyed by Deathstroke and his Dark Army. That destruction mimicked the cancelation of the Teen Titans Academy series itself, which was cut short with issue #15 back in May.
Despite the students all giving up on their fledgling superhero careers thanks to Deathstroke's warning after the academy fell in the second issue, the most memorable students returned in Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths #5 (by Joshua Williamson, Daniel Sampere, Alejandro Sánchez and Tom Napolitano). With the recovery of the fallen Titans teacher, Beast Boy, the Titans Academy was reunited. Gar even called Dark Crisis the students' final exam.
Dark Crisis is a Final Goodbye to Teen Titans Academy
Although they've been reunited here, Teen Titans Academy is still canceled. On top of that, the Academy itself was utterly annihilated by Slade. There would be no school to go back to even if they wanted to. Let's not forget that this isn't the first time that the Teen Titans Academy has fallen. When they faced off against Red X and prevented the Future State apocalypse, Titans Tower fell then too. It had to be totally rebuilt from the ground up, and the academy temporarily moved to less-than-ideal facilities in the interim. Rebuilding Titans Tower over and over again is costly, especially when it has to be a suitable school too. It would also raise concerns from parents.
It's likely that this is the end of Teen Titans Academy, despite this return. However, having some of its students show up here, after they had abandoned the Academy earlier in Dark Crisis, gives fans of the series an opportunity to say goodbye. These characters, whilst very new to the DC Universe, have faced a lot. Those who appeared in this issue even once traveled to Apokolips to free Shazam. It wouldn't be right to have them flee from this Crisis. They were bound to stand up for what they believed in and to do so alongside their Titans teachers.
Dark Crisis May be Teen Titans Academy's Graduation Day
In doing so, the students of Teen Titans Academy may have proven themselves to no longer be students, but fully-fledged Teen Titans. Nightwing referred to the students, and the rest of the assembled heroes, as such in the big charge against Deathstroke's Dark Army in this issue. That and Beast Boy's "final exam" comments suggested that they may no longer be considered students if they make it through this. It wouldn't be the first time a Crisis has turned into the proving ground for a younger hero. Jaime Reyes' Blue Beetle made his first appearance in Infinite Crisis, which was certainly a trial by fire for such a young hero. Nevertheless, he proved his worth back then and was even approached by Jonathan Kent for his new Justice League.
With that in mind, Dark Crisis could end with these young heroes making their way onto the Teen Titans full-time, alongside the likes of Kid Flash and Red Arrow. With Teen Titans Academy canceled, it leaves room for a new Titans series of some kind. The older Titans like Nightwing, Donna Troy and Starfire may be the focus in the current comics at the moment, but that just means the younger characters have been waiting for more attention. There were a number of plot threads left unresolved when Teen Titans Academy concluded. Therefore, a new Teen Titans series coming out of Dark Crisis could satisfy fans of that series whilst simultaneously introduce a more traditional Teen Titans series to comic book shelves in the process.