Organizational Turnaround and Educational Performance

Abstract

How do accountability policies affect failing organizations? Are additional interventions used to improve underperforming agencies effective in raising performance outputs? This article investigates the effectiveness of turnaround policies in organizations that persistently fail to meet accountability standards. Using Performance-Based Monitoring Analysis System data from169 school districts in Texas, this article shows that turnaround interventions have only limited success. While monitoring strategies work for the most salient performance indicator in the short term, improvements quickly dissipate following an intervention. Supporting the notion that management matters, results also show that the type of monitor assigned to a failing school can affect the extent of improvement in performance.