Unintended Consequences: No Child Left Behind and the Allocation of School Leaders

Abstract

Relatively little is known about the effect of school accountability on school leadership. This paper investigates the impact of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) on principal mobility and the subsequent distribution of principal quality across schools. Using variation in pre-period student demographics to identify schools that are likely to miss performance targets, I show that NCLB decreases average principal quality at disadvantaged schools by encouraging high ability principals at these schools to migrate to schools less likely to face NCLB sanctions. These results are consistent with a model of principal-school matching in which school districts are unable to compensate principals for the increased likelihood of sanctions at disadvantaged schools.