The Intersection of K-12 School Accountability and Human Capital

Session Submission Type: Panel

Abstract

Investments in K-12 schools’ human capital systems improve teacher quality and consistency, which in turn are principal determinants of student outcomes. Persistent teacher vacancies and threats to funding have sparked urgent discussions among education policymakers, state boards of education, and district administrators to find solutions to these systemic issues. Schools are seeking to hire, keep, and develop their pool of human resources with highly qualified instructors, and in sufficient numbers. 

Policies that target the acquisition of human capital at schools, such as locally implemented federal turnaround initiatives and state-specific hiring strategies, are meant to expand the capacity of district personnel and school administrators to recruit and retain highly qualified teachers and school staff. However, evidence around the impact of these policy initiatives is mixed, particularly about affects on student achievement, teacher turnover and vacancies rates, and organizational efficiency.  

To move this literature forward, this panel brings together four papers that illuminate critical connections between improvement mandates and personnel challenges. Specifically, they highlight how school accountability policies affect human capital in targeted schools. The papers examine policies across three states, use varied methods, and comprise researchers from five different institutions. 

The first paper examines the relationship between a Comprehensive School Improvement (CSI) designation and teacher vacancies on the school level. Merging multiple sets of school-level data in South Carolina and using a sharp regression discontinuity design, this study finds that the year after a school is designated as CSI there is an increase of 2.3 teacher vacancies.  

The second paper examines how district leaders in one school district developed and implemented an improvement initiative targeting (CSI) schools. Using policy documents and interview data from personnel and principals, this paper illuminates how district leaders used a principal replacement strategy to improve student achievement in the district’s lowest performing school. Findings reveal considerations for managing dilemmas around organizational boundaries and hierarchies. 

The third paper examines the effects of the Partnership Model – Michigan’s strategy for supporting their lowest performing schools – on teacher turnover. Using a regression discontinuity design, this study finds that, in the first year of implementation, there are increases to within-district transfer but no effects on across-district transfer or on leaving Michigan public schools

The final paper in the panel explores the impacts of a novel teacher-leader policy in North Carolina on student test scores and teacher turnover. This study uses longitudinal statewide, student-level data and a difference-in-difference approach to shed light on how offering teachers increased leadership responsibility affects student and teacher outcomes. 

This panel will explain the complexities of the educational labor market and discuss the relationship between accountability policies and human capital patterns in K-12 public schools. Findings indicate that increasing school accountability can increase the number of teachers or administrators transferring to other schools or teaching out of their field resulting in a sense of organizational entropy. However, when teachers are exposed to a targeted career development opportunity, students reap the rewards with increased academic achievement.

Policy Area

• Education

Chair

• Samantha A Cullum, University of Pennsylvania

Discussants

• David S. Knight, University of Washington

• Andrew Mitchell Camp, Brown University

Organizer

• Christy Batts, North Carolina State University

Individual Presentations

• The Effect of School Turnaround on Teacher Vacancies - Presenting Author: Joshua F Bleiberg, University of Pittsburgh

• Local Dilemmas of School Improvement under ESSA - Non-Presenting Co-Author: Ayesha K Hashim, NWEA; Non-Presenting Co-Author: Ogechi Irondi, University of Pittsburgh; Presenting Author: Christy Batts, North Carolina State University; Non-Presenting Co-Author: Lam D Pham, North Carolina State University

• The Effects of the Partnership Model on Teacher Turnover in Michigan’s Lowest Performing Schools - Presenting Author: Alexander Moran, University of Maryland; Non-Presenting Co-Author: Erica Harbatkin, Florida State University

• Examining the Impact of a Teacher-Leader Program - Presenting Author: Lam D Pham, North Carolina State University; Non-Presenting Co-Author: Sora Yoo, North Carolina State University