| Katharine Strunk
Stanford University
Accountability and local control: Incentive response with and without authority over resource generation and allocation
FINAL REPORT: br>This study examines the differential effect accountability policies can have on student outcomes when implemented in different state policy contexts. Specifically, we explore interactions between accountability and local control. We measure local control, or the lack thereof, by local control over spending in the form of the percent of state aid that comes from categorical grants, local citizen governance over revenue-raising, and principal autonomy over school policies. We first ask whether stronger accountability reforms were more likely to be implemented in states that had stronger or weaker local control, and whether accountability increased or reduced this control. The paper then explores the effects of accountability and control on student outcomes and asks whether accountability systems are more or less effective in states with greater local control.
We find evidence that stronger accountability policies were implemented in states with weaker local control, as measured by local provisions for revenue-raising and allocation. Our analysis shows that accountability strength is positively associated with NAEP scores, even with the inclusion of local control measures. In addition, there is evidence that the effect of accountability is greater when there is greater local control. This phenomenon can be seen by the negative estimates of coefficients on interactions between accountability and the percent of funding from categorical aid and between accountability and no-local-vote provision for school finance revenues, and by the positive estimate of the interaction coefficient between accountability and principals' perceived control over hiring and spending.
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