The Effect of School Reconstitution on Student Achievement in Texas

• In Event: Roundtable Session 8
  In Roundtable Session: State Accountability Policies

Abstract

School reconstitution requires replacement of relevant staff at poor-performing schools. The threat of this measure arguably provides significant motivation for improvement and theories indicate its implementation may improve student achievement as well. From 2003 through 2011, 281 Texas schools with 236,000 students were required to reconstitute through either state or federal provisions; 100 of these schools were required to reconstitute more than once. A further 1,053 schools with 809,000 students came to the brink of reconstitution but managed to escape this fate. To date, there are no large-scale quantitative studies examining the effectiveness of this reform on short or long term student achievement. Application of multiple quantitative methods triangulates the estimated effect of this policy on student academic achievement.

Author

• Greg Cumpton, The University of Texas - Austin