Dr. Andreas Sihotang, assistant professor at the Clinton School of Public Service, presented new research on public accountability systems at the 47th Annual Fall Research Conference for the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management (APPAM) in Seattle on Nov. 13.
Sihotang’s paper, “Signals and Voice: Performance Grades and Parental Coproduction in NYC Public Schools,” was featured on the “Insights on Street-Level Bureaucracy” panel. The study takes a look at the relationship between an organization’s performance and citizen participation, specifically focusing on how New York City school performance letter grades influence parent behavior.
The study, co-authored with Weijie Wang (Texas A&M) and Jiwoong Jung (UNC-Greensboro), uses data from New York City’s school grading system and parent complaints to the city’s 311 system. This research moves beyond simple surveys to measure what parents actually do when they see their school’s public report card.
“We found a unique, non-straightforward relationship between school performance and how parents choose to participate,” Sihotang said. “We saw that as a school’s performance grade decreases – from an A to a B, C, or D – the number of parent complaints rises. Parents were actively trying to help improve the school by speaking up.”
However, that engagement hits a breaking point.
“Once the school’s performance declines past a certain point, such as receiving an F grade, the complaints stop rising,” he said.
Sihotang and the co-authors theorize that this sudden silence suggests parents stop trying to improve the school and instead choose to leave, a concept known in public service as the “exit” response.
“Instead of submitting feedback or making complaints, we infer that the parents simply move their children to another school at this point,” Sihotang said. “This aligns with the idea that when public service declines, citizens either voice their concern, exit the service, or stay loyal.”
The research also found that parents were more likely to complain about issues they could easily see and judge, like school safety and facilities, rather than complex internal matters like teaching methods and discipline policies.
The study is still ongoing, and the research team hopes to present the information at future conferences and publish it in an academic journal during 2026.