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It responds to the common school-choice argument contrasting private and public accountability, and highlights how choice programs can increase transparency through transaction-level data. 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McShane, Ph.D.  \nABOUT EDCHOICE  \nEdChoice is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, nonpartisan organization. Our mission is to advance educational freedom and choice for all as a pathway to successful lives and a stronger society. Weare committed to understanding and pursuing a K–12 education ecosystem that empowers every family to choose the learning environment that fits their children’s needs best. EdChoice is the intellectual legacy of Milton and Rose D. Friedman, who founded the organization in 1996 asthe Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice. The contentsofthis publication are intended to provide empirical information and should not be construed as lobbying for any position related to any legislation.  \nMAY 2026  \nTABLE OF CONTENTS  \nExecutive Summary........................................................................................................................................................... 04  \nIntroduction ........................................................................................................................................................................ 05  \nA Bit of Background............................................................................................................................................................ 06  \nArgument \\#1-Traditional public schools are not financially accountable to taxpayers ................................. 08  \nArgument \\#2-Traditional public schools are not democratically accountable to citizens .............................10  \nArgument \\#3-Traditional public schools are not educationally accountable to students, parents, or anyone else .......................................................................................................................................................12  \nConclusion............................................................................................................................................................................. 14  \nAbout the Author ................................................................................................................................................................. 15  \nAcknowledgments ............................................................................................................................................................... 15  \nNotes....................................................................................................................................................................................... 16  \nTHE 2026 ACCOUNTABILITY MYTH 3  \nEXECUTIVE SUMMARY  \nBack in 2021, I first published The Accountability Myth, a long-form argument critiquing the idea that public schools are held accountable for their performance. I wrote it to respond to a common argument I heard during discussions around school choice. Summed up in one sentence, it is:  \n“Private schools are not held accountable, but public schools are.”  \nAs I argued in 2021, there are two ways to respond to that claim. One way is to attack the first clause. No, private schools are accountable. Particularly in the context of school choice programs, parents have enormous power to require educators to answer to them, as they can simply take their money elsewhere.  \nWhat’s more, as I’ll argue later, many of the generation of choice programs that emerged after The Accountability Myth was published are providing a level of transparency heretofore unseen in public education. Transaction-level data has allowed voters to scrutinize every decision that parents are making with their choice dollars, allowing for a granular level of review. There is plenty of evidence to back up the idea that private schools are accountable.  \nBut the point of The Accountability Myth was to attack the second clause. It argued that public schools are not held accountable for their performance. Lots of people had made the first argument, and not enough ","cbCaivx5CluErTUK","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaivx5CluErTUK","pdf",265912,"English","# Executive Summary\n# Introduction\n# A Bit of Background\n# Argument #1-Traditional public schools are not financially accountable to taxpayers\n# Argument #2-Traditional public schools are not democratically accountable to citizens\n# Argument #3-Traditional public schools are not educationally accountable to students, parents, or anyone else\n# Conclusion\n# About the Author\n# Acknowledgments\n# Notes","[{\"question\":\"What core claim does The Accountability Myth address?\",\"answer\":\"It critiques the idea that public schools are held accountable for their performance, challenging the contrast often made with private schools.\"},{\"question\":\"How does the book explain that public schools are not financially accountable?\",\"answer\":\"It argues that school spending is opaque and difficult to trace to per-pupil costs, with inconsistent spending categories and multiple published figures.\"},{\"question\":\"Why does it say public schools are not democratically accountable?\",\"answer\":\"It argues that school board elections have low turnout and are influenced by motivated interest groups rather than representing the broader community.\"}]","THE ACCOUNTABILITY MYTH - SECOND EDITION - Executive Summary - May 2026 | PDF",1792050456,25]