Does School Accountability Reduce Inequality in Education? Lessons from South Korea

Abstract

This study takes note of changes in school accountability policies from 2009 to 2015 in Korea utilizing OECD PISA data from 2006 to 2015. We found that active implementation of the accountability policy (2009-2012 period) were effective in raising the academic performance of students and schools in the lowest socioeconomic strata. However, when the school accountability policies were gradually abolished (2012-2015), education achievements of students from poor family background as well as the overall performance of low achieving public schools worsened significantly. We particularly noted that it was only public schools that experienced gains and exacerbations in school performance in accordance with the status of accountability policy, conversely, private schools somewhat gained from the implementation of the policy and resisted negative consequences following the gradual abolishment of the policy.