Mathematica

In 2007, the District of Columbia (D.C.) passed the Public Education Reform Amendment Act, which established mayoral control of D.C. Public Schools (DCPS) and led to the appointment of Michelle Rhee as school chancellor. In an effort to boost student achievement, Chancellor Rhee replaced many school principals as one of her first reforms. For the 2008–2009 school year, 39% of the principals in the school district—51 individuals—did not return, and more were replaced in the following years. This report measured whether students in a school with a new principal performed better on standardized tests than they would have if the original principal had been retained.
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