Making schools work: new evidence on accountability reforms

This study looks at efforts to improve accountability in the education sector. It focuses on service delivery failures – cases where resources for education have increased but where these have not led to an improvement in outcomes. The authors argue that a key cause of low quality and unequal public services in education is weak accountability of providers to both their supervisors and clients. Education results depend on the effective resolution of a series of principal-agent problems that characterize service delivery in this sector. Cross-country analysis of international tests shows that countries with greater local decision-making authority and greater accountability have better learning outcomes.
Developing countries are pursuing a range of innovative strategies to tackle these accountability deficits, which are helping to drive improvements in results. Many of these new strategies are being subjected to rigorous impact evaluation, which in itself also helps to strengthen accountability.
This paper uses evidence to distil practical guidance on three approaches to enhancing accountability: information reforms (policies that use the power of information to strengthen the ability of clients of education services (students and parents) to hold providers accountable for results; school-based management reforms (policies that increase schools’ autonomy to make key decisions and control resources, often empowering parents to play a larger role); teacher incentive reforms (policies that aim to make teachers more accountable for results, either by making contract tenure dependent on performance, or by offering performance-linked pay).
These three approaches were identified as the most effective based on a review of the impact evaluation support. Other approaches that have been shown to have improved accountability include making greater use of the private sector to create a more competitive market for education and strengthening the compact between providers and service users through administrative decentralisation.
The evidence from developing countries (which is thin) suggests that information can lead to improvements in outcomes. This happened because information promoted effective choice and competition, enabled more effective participation in school oversight and management, and enabled citizens to hold local governments accountable.
Only a small number of rigorous studies of the impact of school-based management reforms exist. It is difficult to evaluate the size effects of these programmes because metrics and results vary in different studies.
Innovative approaches to teacher contracting and compensation are being introduced in developing countries. A growing number of reforms have been rigorously evaluated. Although the number of existing studies is small, evidence is beginning to accumulate about their impact.

Summary