For decades, American education reformers have promised that technocratic accountability systems would transform our schools. We’ve spent billions implementing standardized tests, creating elaborate school-rating systems, and demanding “data-driven” improvements. Yet two new reports reveal an uncomfortable truth: These government accountability systems aren’t just ineffective—they’re actively misleading parents and policymakers while failing the students they claim to serve.

Parents Don’t Trust the Government on School Quality

A revealing new study published in Education Sciences examined how parents use and perceive the A–F school rating systems in 15 states. Researchers conducted focus groups with 44 parents across Arizona, North Carolina, and Texas—three states with established letter-grade accountability systems. The findings expose a massive disconnect between official ratings and parental priorities.

Indeed, most of the parents in the focus groups were simply unaware their states even had letter-grade systems. When researchers asked focus-group participants about their state’s accountability framework, responses ranged from confusion to complete ignorance. One parent asked, “Where is that grade found? No one has sent out a flyer [saying], ‘Hey, check your school’s grade.’”

Even parents who were aware of the A–F grading systems “had little understanding of what inputs were behind the grades the state issued.” After researchers explained each state’s school grading framework, parents were not impressed. They found the grading systems to be “overly simplistic” as they simultaneously failed to accurately reflect objective measures of performance, such as the state test, and failed to capture the subjective nature of school quality.

Only 23% of parents consulted state report cards when looking for information about their child’s school, according to a national survey referenced in the study. Instead, parents turned to school visits, independent rating websites (such as GreatSchools), friends, neighbors, and social media—all sources they trusted more than official state accountability reports.

The Grade Inflation Scam and the Trust Deficit

Parents have good reason not to trust state’s school accountability metrics. A recent Heritage Foundation analysis reveals how state accountability systems have devolved into what my colleague Matthew Ladner calls “weapons of mass deception.”

States responded to federal accountability pressure not by improving education, but by lowering the bar for “proficiency” and gaming the system through statistical manipulation.

Even more telling is the gulf between state ratings and independent assessments. In Arizona, the state education department rated only 0.25% of Phoenix-area schools with the equivalent of an “F” grade. By contrast, the independent GreatSchools platform rated 24% of similar schools that poorly—a difference of more than 90 times.

Which seems more credible: that virtually every school is performing well, or that nearly a quarter are struggling? Given that fewer than one-third of Arizona students passed the most recent state test for English Language Arts, and only four in 10 passed the state math test, the GreatSchools assessments are likely more accurate than the state’s A–F grading system.

As Ladner shows, the problem is not isolated to Arizona. In state after state, so-called “accountability” systems hand out “A” grades like candy while “F” grades remain rare even as statewide math and English proficiency rates are abysmal. “With a sad but consistent predictability,” Ladner concludes, “state accountability systems failed to hold many adults meaningfully accountable.”

Both studies point to the same fundamental flaw in state accountability systems: political interference. Stanford Professors John Chubb and Terry Moe observed that teacher unions and education bureaucracies proved to be “maestros of political blocking,” systematically undermining any accountability measures that might threaten the status quo. When reform happened, it was only because these interests found it acceptable—typically meaning more spending and softer standards.

Understandably, these failed accountability systems have eroded public trust. The Heritage study notes that 89% of parents believe their children are performing at grade level, while only 26% of eighth-graders actually scored “proficient or better” on national math assessments in 2024. This massive disconnect between perception and reality is no accident—it’s the predictable result of accountability systems designed to obscure rather than illuminate educational performance.

The parent perception study confirms this trust deficit. When parents can’t rely on official school ratings, they create their own information networks. Parents described elaborate processes of checking multiple websites, joining community Facebook groups, visiting schools personally, and relying on word-of-mouth recommendations—anything but the official state ratings supposedly designed to help them.

That’s not a bad thing. Government accountability systems are doomed to fail due to a toxic combination of political capture and bureaucratic ineffectiveness and inertia. Fortunately, there is a better way.

A Path Forward: Real Accountability to Parents

These studies don’t argue for abandoning accountability. Rather, they argue for real accountability that puts parents in charge, not politicians and bureaucrats.

Real accountability is when institutions are held directly accountable to those who bear the consequences of their performance. In the case of schools, that means students and their parents. Real school accountability requires transparency and choice.

The parent perception research shows that families desperately want information about school quality, but they want comprehensive, honest assessments that reflect their values and priorities. Schools should publish clear data not just on test scores, but on the factors parents actually care about.

The government need not require such transparency. In a robust market, schools that share information that parents want will have an advantage over those who don’t. Instead, the government should avoid crowding out independent rating organizations by shutting down their “official” but practically useless rating systems. As Ladner observes, resources like GreatSchools, Niche, and MatchED are already providing platforms where parents can learn about schooling options based on the personal experiences of other parents.

Most importantly, accountability must flow to parents through genuine education choice. The Heritage study notes that the rapid expansion of Education Savings Accounts and school choice programs reflects a “sustained paradigm shift” toward trusting parents rather than state officials to assess school quality.

When families have real options and honest information, they create bottom-up accountability that no amount of political maneuvering can subvert.

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