As school leaders, principals can influence student achievement in a number of ways, such as hiring and firing of teachers, monitoring instruction and maintaining student discipline, among many others. We measure the effect of individual principals on gains in math and reading achievement...

We estimate the effect of information about school achievement that is disseminated to the public through websites and school `report cards' on school choice decisions. We find that students are more likely to leave their school when public information reveals poor school-level performance. Some...