"MU professor finds correlation between increased voter turnout and higher test scores"
Columbia, MO - infoZine - President Obama’s “Race to the Top” grant program, which encourages school districts to compete for $4.35 billion, has made a strong push for education reform. While much of the education reform debate has focused on issues of adequate funding and teacher qualifications, few have addressed the role of citizen involvement in local education policy making. A University of Missouri researcher has examined the link between school board elections and local school performance. He has found a correlation between increased voter turnout for school board elections and state assessment scores.
“Education researchers know that parental involvement makes a difference, but few political scientists have asked: does voting make a difference?” said David Webber, associate professor of political science in the MU College of Arts and Science. “Because voter turnout and candidate competition in school district elections reflect a district’s social capital, these characteristics of school board elections should affect how schools perform and be valued as a means for improving school performance. While the local, nonprofessional atmosphere of school board elections could potentially attract high levels of citizen involvement, few candidates and equally few voters tend to get involved in school board elections. To encourage citizen involvement, school districts should host forums to discuss important issues and send newsletters to keep citizens informed of school progress.”
Columbia, MO - infoZine - President Obama’s “Race to the Top” grant program, which encourages school districts to compete for $4.35 billion, has made a strong push for education reform. While much of the education reform debate has focused on issues of adequate funding and teacher qualifications, few have addressed the role of citizen involvement in local education policy making. A University of Missouri researcher has examined the link between school board elections and local school performance. He has found a correlation between increased voter turnout for school board elections and state assessment scores.
“Education researchers know that parental involvement makes a difference, but few political scientists have asked: does voting make a difference?” said David Webber, associate professor of political science in the MU College of Arts and Science. “Because voter turnout and candidate competition in school district elections reflect a district’s social capital, these characteristics of school board elections should affect how schools perform and be valued as a means for improving school performance. While the local, nonprofessional atmosphere of school board elections could potentially attract high levels of citizen involvement, few candidates and equally few voters tend to get involved in school board elections. To encourage citizen involvement, school districts should host forums to discuss important issues and send newsletters to keep citizens informed of school progress.”
