School District Central Office Power and Student Performance

Abstract

The literature on effective schools suggests that building level power is associated with increased student performance. To the extent that central district offices try to assert their power over school buildings, one would hypothesize that students' performance would decline. This study uses the National Educational Longitudinal Study as a database to test this expectation. This database traces students interviewed in 8th grade until their graduation from high school. Results suggest that intrusive central offices are associated with somewhat lower student performance.