Local Violence, Academic Performance, and School Accountability

Standardized test scores and value-added measures largely determine "grades" assigned to teachers and schools. Poor evaluations have severe implications: in some cases, entire schools may be closed or replaced by a charter. Although evaluation depends on within-school factors, random shocks external to the school environment may affect measured test performance and evaluations. In this article, we study a salient shock: violent crime. Our results suggest exposure to an additional violent event is associated with decreased test performance. These performance declines are consequential as the schools impacted by within-testing period violent crime are also less likely to meet accountability standards.