Andrew Saultz

When Accountability Strategies Collide Do Policy Changes That Raise Accountability Standards Also Erode Public Satisfaction

No Child Left Behind (NCLB) requires that two accountability strategies—raising standards and public pressure through publicizing performance data—be implemented simultaneously. However, when coupled, they may produce an inappropriate consequence for public opinion. The public may misunderstand the drop in achievement that occurs when the bar is raised and become dissatisfied with school performance. To examine this potential negative consequence, the authors analyze data from New York City. The authors find parent satisfaction declined when school performance grades dropped after the implementation of higher standards. This article contributes to our understanding of how the public responds to school accountability data. Because public support for sustained and successful reforms is key, understanding how accountability policies may erode support is critical.

Informing or Shaping Public Opinion? The Influence of School Accountability Data Format on Public Perceptions of School Quality

The 2001 No Child Left Behind Act requires local education agencies to publicly disseminate school performance data. In response, districts and state departments of education have created “school report cards” that vary widely. While data dissemination policies can improve institutional legitimacy and ensure ongoing support, we suggest that the potential to diminish or undermine legitimacy also exists. Using data from a population-based survey experiment, we demonstrate that people assign significantly different meanings to some formats. We find that format influences not only the average rating individuals assign to schools with the same performance levels but also difference perceived among schools of varying performance.

The Politics of Elementary and Secondary Education Act Waivers.

Executive leadership of the U.S. Department of Education (USDOE) initiated a flexibility offering from No Child Left Behind. Our work explores specific design decisions made in these state-specific accountability systems as associated with state political environments, resources, and demographic characteristics. Our analysis, focused on 42 states with approved flexibility waivers, provides some evidence that design decisions are associated with prior education policies, political leanings, and financial resources within each state. Policymakers should also take note, as these results suggest that state political factors may influence how state policymakers will react in future negotiations with the USDOE.

Will Performance Management Restore Citizens’ Faith in Public Education?

ABSTRACT: Over the past decade, policymakers have expanded the use of performance management in public education in the United States. Education researchers have focused heavily on the ways these practices and policies shape teaching and learning, but have given much less attention to other expected outcomes of performance management. This article explores two specific areas where more research is needed: whether performance management improves public satisfaction and trust in public education, and whether it improves public oversight of education. We provide background on relevant educational issues and context for the study of performance management in education scholarship. Our goal is to draw additional researchers into this important line of inquiry.

Waivering as Governance Federalism During the Obama Administration

This article analyzes how the Obama administration used executive power to grant waivers from federal education policies and assesses whether they used this power differently than previous administrations and in other sectors (e.g., health or welfare). The executive use of waivers to shape state policy is not a new trend. However, we find that recent education waivers differ in purpose and specificity from past education waivers, as well as waivers in other social policy arenas, and that the Obama administration is using this executive power to further its policy objectives in ways that often circumvent congressional intent. As the executive branch continues to utilize waivers as a policy lever, this research has important implications for the future of federal involvement in educational policy and provides critical background for Congress’s reaction to waivers in the recently reauthorized Elementary and Secondary Education Act.

Exploring the Supply Side: Factors Related to Charter School Openings in NYC

School choice policies have led to a proliferation of new schools opening. While economic theory suggests that new charters would open in high demand locations, limited work examines whether this is, indeed, occurring. Framing our study in geography, we explore both space factors and place factors as contrasting explanations for where new charters may open. By using geographic information system (GIS) mapping, we explore where new charters open in New York City (NYC) using data from NYC public schools and the Census. Results suggest that charters are responding to poor student achievement and possibly to poverty density, but not to parental satisfaction.

Fourth Time Is the Charm: Charter School Policy and the Influence of the Elite in Washington State.

In 2011, Washington was one of only eight states that did not have a charter school law in state policy heading into the Race to the Top (RTTT) competition. The RTTT competition incentivized local education agencies not only to allow charter schools, but also to increase or eliminate the cap on the number of charter schools that a state allowed to be authorized (Saultz, 2015). As a result, many within Washington were concerned that the state would not be able to garner additional funds from the federal government. There was much debate within the state on whether or not to apply to RTTT. In the end, Washington was one of only four states that did not apply in round one of the competition, but did submit an application in round two (Saultz, 2015). This paper provides a historical overview of charter school policy in Washington State and explores the role of the federal government in shaping current charter policy. The first charter school initiative in Washington, I-177, was placed on the ballot statewide in 1996, and was soundly defeated by voters. In subsequent years, voters again turned down initiatives that would create charter schools, including ballot measure I-729 in 2000 and Referendum 55 in 2004. In each of these elections, the Washington Education Association (WEA) and various school administrator groups publicly opposed creating statewide charter school laws. Additionally, the Washington House of Representatives passed charter legislation in 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, and 2004 (R. Dorn, personal communication, August 8, 2013). However, strong Democratic opposition to charter legislation in the Senate prevented the legislation from passing (R. Dorn, personal communication, August 8, 2013). Washington’s decision to apply for the RTTT application once again provided an opportunity for additional dialogue surrounding charter schools. Because there was a heavy emphasis on “ensuring successful conditions for high-performing charters” included in the application criteria, with a possible 40 points out of the 500 total, Washington policymakers were forced to consider how to address charters. Prior to round two of RTTT, the state legislature entertained a new round of charter legislation in 2011. But once again, it failed to pass. However, in 2012, ballot measure 1240 asked voters whether Washington should allow charter schools to operate within the state (Initiative Measure No. 1240, 2012). This time, proponents of the bill spent nearly

Online Schooling: A Cautionary Tale

15 million to run advertisements, hire people to canvas, and send direct mailers to voters throughout the state. In particular, five individuals collectively spent over

Measuring Outcomes: Lessons From the World of Public Education

12.5 million to support the creation of charter schools (Gill, 2012). In contrast, approximately

Federal policy and the teacher labor market: exploring the effects of NCLB school accountability on teacher turnover

ABSTRACT In this controversy piece, we portray online learning as growing too fast for existing regulatory structures to oversee and generally as having failed to live up to its potential. Operators, particularly for-profit operators, have generally not produced successful schools. We urge reforms of cyber schooling funding mechanisms, data systems, and oversight.