In an effort to increase student readiness for college and career, many States have adopted new academic standards encouraged by education reform advocates. These standards are commonly referred to as the Common Core Standards. Schools from States that have adopted the Common Core Standards have been compelled to significantly restructure their…

Since the 2001-02 school year, the accountability provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) have shaped much of the work of public school teachers and administrators in the United States. NCLB explicitly prohibits schools from excluding students with disabilities from the accountability system and requires not only participation of…

Since Federal regulations have given states the option to implement alternate assessments based on modified academic achievement standards (AA-MAS) as part of their accountability systems for a small group of students with disabilities, a number of states have made decisions about whether or not to develop and implement such an assessment.…

Describes the high stakes use of educational indicators to hold schools accountable for students' academic performance, using examples from California's Public Schools Accountability Act of 1999 to discuss the assumptions on which this strategy is based and examining the assumptions against the literature on the use of educational indicators to…

Explores the complexity of balancing curricular standards and accountability with professional creativity and development, focusing on four Chicago high schools that range from a college prep magnet school to a reconstituted school. The paper looks at how teachers respond to curricular standards, frameworks, and assessments and how they shape…

Introduces a collection of articles on educational accountability, outlining the framework used to select and order the articles. The framework clarifies the concept of accountability and identifies assumptions and tools associated with four different approaches to accountability (market competition, decentralization, professionalization, and…

Discusses conditions under which educational accountability might prompt academic improvement, critiquing the logic linking the two; identifying processes influencing the validity of accountability judgment, acceptance of judgment, and probability that it motivates improvement; and analyzing 12 New Zealand primary schools' methods of informing…

Suggests that state standards-based reform is insufficient alone, examining long-standing school improvement processes in one Oregon school district, describing the use of standards-based reform and school improvement in the district, and exploring relations between the two efforts. This case shows congruence of approach between the district and…

Examines educational conditions and resources, institutional characteristics, and political factors contributing to the shaping of states' educational accountability policies. Analysis of data from a variety of sources indicates that the main predictors of states' accountability policies are National Assessment of Educational Progress performance…

Examines interconnections between accountability, power, and control within the British education system, focusing on the 5-18 education. Although some of the structures and processes are very similar to those of the U.S. K-12 system, the British national system is highly centralized and highly market-driven, with a strong emphasis on parental…

Explores the consequences of integrated choice/accountability policies for school organization and governance, examining the constitutional context of school authority, identifying historical trends in the exercise of authority by various stakeholders, presenting a model for understanding governance today, describing school choice and performance…

Examines turbulence in U.S. education, explaining how today's changing educational policy environment causes new frustrations. Suggests that federal, state, local, and site- level are current sources of indecision and struggle that have implications for today's choice of direction concerning inquiry and leadership for public education. Discusses…

Examines California's Public School Accountability Act within the K-12 policy and political context, asserting that the new accountability imposes a new regulatory scheme on California's schools that adds to the "regulatory baggage" schools already carry. Suggestes that simply adding one more layer of regulation without reassessing the…

Describes a large-scale Canadian assessment program which attempted to embed an improvement orientation into assessment by emphasizing how large-scale assessment contributes to learning. The paper investigates the impact of the assessment on how schools addressed accountability and improvement after the program had been in place for 2 years,…

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) requires states to test specified subjects and grades, to establish minimum performance standards for students, schools and school districts, and to provide assistance and impose sanctions on schools and districts that do not meet performance goals as a condition of receiving federal aid. NCLB builds on…