The National Center on School Choice is funded by the United States Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences. The Center exercises national leadership in school choice research, including charter and magnet schools, private school vouchers, teacher recruitment, school management, and state policymaking.

Competition and Democratic Accountability

Paul Peterson, Harvard University
William Howell, University of Chicago
Kenneth Wong, Brown University

This study examines the dynamic interplay between the competitiveness of public schools—as suggested by measurable student outcomes and the extent to which parents “exit” their low performing public schools—and voters’ propensity to hold elected officials accountable for school performance.  Specifically, it assesses whether voters punish or reward incumbent school board members on the basis of changes in student learning, as measured by test scores, in local and district schools. The findings from this research will enrich our understanding of existing democratic accountability systems and their interaction with recently enacted, state-mandated accountability systems and public school choice programs.