School accountability reforms and the use of special education

This paper analyses the relationship between Norwegian school reform implementation and the use of special education. After the introduction of the national reform programme called the ‘Kunnskapsløftet’ (‘Knowledge promotion’) in 2006, the use of special education has increased dramatically in Norway. As part of the national reform, municipalities were encouraged to implement accountability elements in their governing systems. There is evidence that the municipalities have implemented the reform to varying degrees and at different points in time. I exploit these variations in timing to investigate whether the growth in the use of special education reflects the degree of reform implementation in these municipalities. The variation in the timing of reform implementation is exploited by means of the application of a Jacobsen, Lalonde, and Sullivan [1993. “Earning Losses of Displaced Workers.” The American Economic Review 83 (4): 685–709] strategy. I find that increases in the proportion of special-education placements are significantly smaller in municipalities with a high degree of reform implementation.