Although current accountability systems have received a great deal of criticism for being too narrow and too focused on sanctions, relatively little concern has been directed at a related problem: the failure of accountability systems to meaningfully engage the public. Derek Gottlieb and Jack Schneider suggest that a better system would consider…

Since the passage of No Child Left Behind, large-scale assessments have come to play a central role in federal and state education accountability systems. Teachers and parents have expressed a number of concerns about their state testing programs, such as too much time devoted to testing and the high-stakes use of testing for teacher evaluation.…

"Turnaround" has become the new buzzword in education. From states and districts paying for principals to be trained as turnaround specialists to U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan's call to turn around the country's 5,000 lowest-performing schools, the concept of rapid, large-scale reform in individual schools--not just incremental…

In this article, the authors talk about National Education Association (NEA) leadership's decision to side with corporate reformers rather than with teachers. While the authors agree with the NEA leadership in its argument that the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act "is not working" and is "an unfounded, unfair, and unattainable…

This article presents a speech that Senator Barack Obama delivered in Thornton, Colorado, in May 2008, summarizing his education beliefs and proposals. One of the highlights of Obama's education proposal is fixing the broken promises of No Child Left Behind (NCLB). As President, he will work with the nation's governors and educators to create and…

In this article, the author questions why the resegregation of U.S. schools into two systems--one poor and urban and one well-off and suburban--has remained unnoticed by the public and policy makers. As for state and national policy makers, they have diverted attention away from the deep political, social, and economic forces that have conspired…

The debate over the reauthorization of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) generally overlooks--or looks past--what may be the most fundamental flaw in that legislation. As the law is now written, decisions regarding what the young should know and be able to do are removed from the hands of parents and local community leaders and turned over to officials…

According to this author, "unchecked capitalism is destroying the nation's public schools, and No Child Left Behind (NCLB) is the final nail in their coffin." He argues that, marching under the banner of "accountability," right-wing, pro-business forces are willfully undermining the democratic right of all children to a free,…

Suggests ways for educators to join and shape the accountability movement. Recommends establishing several educational goals for children and for schools that can be assessed using certain "unobtrusive measures." (PKP)

Understanding how various aspects of mathematics education work together is necessary if reform efforts are to succeed, Ms. Newton argues. She compares U.S. and Chinese mathematics education to provide perspectives that might further such understanding. She highlights the Chinese emphasis on thinking systematically about teaching, curriculum, and…

The author of this article states that, for more than 20 years, public educators have developed a professional inferiority complex and a strong sense of hopelessness. After all, he claims, the dominant message over those years, including from some within the profession, has been that educators have caused the declining quality in public schools.…

"Training" certainly fit the factory model of education. To others, the word conjured images of what one does to animals, getting them to sit, roll over, and play dead. Few educators now describe their learning experiences as training. The word "development" may be an improvement, but just a small one. It evokes images of what someone does to…

The diminished attention to social studies education began with the standards and testing movement. As the national push for accountability became ever stronger, states focused first on standards in literacy and mathematics. In the face of pressures to focus on literacy and mathematics, schools and textbook publishers are attempting to "integrate"…

Authors' largely conciliatory response to the Valencia, Valenzuela, Sloan, and Foley article in this issue of the "Kappan" critical of their December 2000 article in support of the Texas Accountability System. (Contains 14 references.) (PKP)

Teachers must deal with lights that turn off on their own, toilet paper rationing and hot water shortages in the bathrooms, and not enough books for their classes. In this article, the author argues that asking teachers to work in these conditions while holding them accountable for dramatic improvements in student performance threatens to drive…