Charter Schools and Progress Scores: Does Representative Bureaucracy Work When the Rules Change?

• In Event: Roundtable Session 28
  In Roundtable Session: Choice and Organizations

Abstract

Previous research indicates that representative bureaucracy works in schools (e.g., Meier and O’Toole 2006; Meier and Stewart 1991). In other words, having more teachers of color in schools helps students of color to perform better academically. However, all but one of these studies (Roch and Pitts 2012) were conducted in traditional school settings. In recent years, new rules have introduced charter schools and progress scores into the mix. These innovations beg the question: does representative bureaucracy still help to explain student outcomes in new contexts? Using data from Texas public schools, the results suggest that representative bureaucracy may have a negative effect on outcomes for Hispanic students in Texas charter schools and no impact on progress scores.

Author

• Paige Perez, Texas A&M University