Signals and Silence: Performance Grades and Parental Coproduction in NYC Public Schools

• In Event: Insights on Street-Level Bureaucracy

Abstract

Coproduction, as defined by Elinor Ostrom (1996), involves the active contribution of citizens to the delivery of public services. As a form of citizen participation (Robert, 2008; Sharp, 1980; Clark, Brudney, & Jang, 2020), coproduction is closely associated with organizational performance. While much research has examined how citizen participation influences performance, the reciprocal relationship—how organizational performance affects citizen coproduction—has received less attention.

Empirical evidence on the relationship between organizational performance and coproduction is mixed. A cross-national survey conducted in five European countries found that favorable service outcomes—such as safe neighborhoods, clean environments, and good public health—were associated with lower levels of citizen coproduction (Parrado et al., 2013). Through field experiments in U.K., James and Moseley (2014) found that providing information about low government performance in household waste recycling did not increase collective voice and, in some cases, even reduced citizens’ willingness to participate.

Some studies provide contrasting results. Holben (2016), using data from public schools and election administration records in North Carolina and employing a Regression Discontinuity Design, found that citizens responded through both voice and exit when school performance fell below a certain threshold. Meanwhile, Porumbescu et al. (2019), using a survey experiment in the U.S., found that respondents exposed to positive information about police performance (measured by crime reduction) were more likely to participate in community safety efforts, as they perceived the police to be trustworthy. Conversely, information about poor police performance also increased willingness to participate—driven by a perceived need to address the shortcomings in public safety.

We aim to provide more causal evidence on how organizational performance affect citizens’ coproduction behavior in the context of public education. Rather than relying on self-reported intentions or perceptions, we use administrative data on parents’ complaints to the NYC 311 system as a behavioral indicator of coproduction in public education. We link the 311 complaint data to the the school performance grade system in NYC public schools. Using a regression discontinuity design, initial analyses suggest that the high performance signal, A, significantly reduced the number of parents’ complaint to the 311 system, compared with the B grade. However, we fail to find evidence that receiving a lower performance grade, such as D, compared with receiving a C, influenced the number of parents complaints. To summarize, we found a nonlinear relationship between school performance and parents’ coproduction of public education. 

These findings complicate the conventional wisdom that poor performance necessarily galvanizes citizen involvement. Instead, they suggest that performance signals may shape coproduction in asymmetric and nonlinear ways—raising important questions about how performance information is interpreted by the public and how it influences civic behavior. Moreover, this study advances the literature by shifting the focus toward the reciprocal dynamics between organizational performance and citizen engagement, offering theoretical insights and practical implications for public administrators seeking to harness coproduction as a tool for improving service delivery.

 

Authors

• Jiwoong Jung, University of North Carolina Greensboro
  Non-Presenting Co-Author

• Andreas D. Sihotang, University of Arkansas
  Non-Presenting Co-Author

• Weijie Wang, Texas A&M University
  Presenting Author