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One system assigns visible color ratings tied to individual performance measures with no direct consequences; the other uses Comprehensive Support and Improvement (CSI) designations based on multiple measures with explicit consequences. Results show a significant positive effect for the lowest red color rating on its targeted outcome, but no significant CSI effect. Survey and interviews suggest clearer, single-measure signals and heightened stakeholder urgency.",{"@graph":69,"@context":122},[70,84,105],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":40,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/the-effects-of-school-accountability-ratings-in-california-under-essa-on-student-graduation-and-college-and-career-readiness/590303/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/the-effects-of-school-accountability-ratings-in-california-under-essa-on-student-graduation-and-college-and-career-readiness/590303.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"Pentious","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-11-04","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":44},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",{"@type":106,"mainEntity":107},"FAQPage",[108,114,118],{"name":109,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":111},"What does the study examine about ESSA school accountability in California?","Question",{"text":112,"@type":113},"It examines the effects of two ESSA accountability designation types—visible color ratings and CSI designations—on graduation and college/career readiness outcomes in California.","Answer",{"name":115,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":116},"What were the main findings for color ratings versus CSI designations?",{"text":117,"@type":113},"The study finds significant positive effects for the red (lowest) color rating on the outcome the rating was based on, while finding no significant effect of a CSI designation.",{"name":119,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":120},"Why might color ratings and CSI designations produce different effects?",{"text":121,"@type":113},"The principal survey and interviews suggest two mechanisms: greater clarity from color ratings based on a single performance measure, and the visibility of color ratings that may create urgency among stakeholders.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":124,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":126,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":128,"site_id":62},590303,1792165276,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":131},{"doc_id":128,"user_id":132,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":39,"category_name":40,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":44,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":139,"language":140,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":141,"faqs":142,"seo_title":143,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":144,"read_time":145,"preview_page_count":4},1374404730887,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_6f874abed73319feea01a86fa6f0fab8","AERA Open  \nJanuary-December 2025, Vol. 11, No. 1, pp. 1–21 DOI: 10. 1177/23328584251349186  \nArticle reuse guidelines: [sagepub.com/journals-permissions](sagepub.com/journals-permissions)[ ](sagepub.com/journals-permissions)© The Author(s) 2025. [https://journals.sagepub.com/home/ero](https://journals.sagepub.com/home/ero)  \nThe Effects of School Accountability Ratings in California Under ESSAon Student Graduation and College and Career Readiness  \nDrew Atchison  \nKerstin Carlson Le Floch  \nAmerican Institutes for Research  \nUmut Özek  \nRAND Corporation  \nJustin Luu  \nSteven Hurlburt  \nAndrea Boyle  \nAmerican Institutes for Research  \nUsing a regression discontinuity design, we examine the effects on graduation and college and career readiness of two types of school performance designations under ESSA in California: (1) color ratings based on individual performance measures that are highly visible, yet do not carry direct ramifications; and (2) federally-mandated Comprehensive Support and Improvement (CSI) designations based on multiple performance measures that are less visible, but have explicit consequences for designated schools. We find significant positive effects of a red color rating (the lowest performance designation) on the outcome on which the rating was based, yet no significant effect of a CSI designation. Descriptive evidence from a principal survey and interviews with district administrators highlight two potential mechanisms behind the differential effects: (1) the relative clarity of color ratings that rely on a single performance measure; and (2) the visibility of color ratings that may induce a sense of urgency among stakeholders.  \nKeywords: accountability, educational policy, policy, school/teacher effectiveness, regression discontinuity, quasi-experimental analysis, Every Student Succeeds Act, Comprehensive Support and Improvement Schools, educational accountability, school accountability, stigma  \nIntroduction  \nSchool accountability is arguably the most influential policy lever available to federal education policymakers. All public schools are subject to the accountability requirements laid forth in the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)—the most recent reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) . More than 2 decades after the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001 inserted consequential accountability provisions into the ESEA, the debate as to whether accountability systems can promote broad improvement to students’educational outcomes continues. Moreover, since the advent of school-level accountability policies, the theory of change behind them has followed the same general framework: (a) measuring school performance and determining performance levels focuses attention on desired student  \noutcomes,(b) schools and districts with different levels of performance ratings face differential public pressure to improve and different ratings may come with different consequences, (c) educators experience increased motivation to improve practices and outcomes as a result of pressure created by public disclosure of performance and consequences, and (d) external assistance and additional resources allow schools to build capacity and implement improvement actions (e.g., Atchison et al., 2023; Fuhrman & Elmore, 2004; Le Floch et al., 2007). Underlying this theory of change is the assumption that school performance signals are clear, publicly visible, accessible to local practitioners, and provide actionable information for school improvement.  \nESSA, the most recent reauthorization of the ESEA, introduced several important changes to federal school accountability. One such change was that ESSA moved  \nCreative Commons Non Commercial CC BY-NC: This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons  \nAttribution-NonCommercial 4.0 License ([https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/)) which permits non-commercial use,  \nrep","cbCaibVlZ9sI8yID","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaibVlZ9sI8yID","pdf",880868,21,"English","# Introduction\n## Research approach and key findings under ESSA\n## ESSA changes to school accountability compared with NCLB\n## Multiple-measure accountability and stakeholder signal clarity\n## Evidence-based interventions for CSI schools","[{\"question\":\"What does the study examine about ESSA school accountability in California?\",\"answer\":\"It examines the effects of two ESSA accountability designation types—visible color ratings and CSI designations—on graduation and college/career readiness outcomes in California.\"},{\"question\":\"What were the main findings for color ratings versus CSI designations?\",\"answer\":\"The study finds significant positive effects for the red (lowest) color rating on the outcome the rating was based on, while finding no significant effect of a CSI designation.\"},{\"question\":\"Why might color ratings and CSI designations produce different effects?\",\"answer\":\"The principal survey and interviews suggest two mechanisms: greater clarity from color ratings based on a single performance measure, and the visibility of color ratings that may create urgency among stakeholders.\"}]","The Effects of School Accountability Ratings in California Under ESSA on Student Graduation and College and Career Readiness | PDF",1792069289,53]