In this article, the author argues that using test scores as the sole indicator of students' and teachers' knowledge and skills is harming students and driving the best teachers from the profession. Research by the Abell Foundation indicates that clear links could be found between teachers' verbal and cognitive abilities and the achievement of…

The Summer 2004 issue of Research Points, a four-page flier from the American Educational Research Association, opens with the fundamental case for value-added assessment: Today's accountability systems place the blame on schools for inadequate student academic achievement, which seems unfair to many people. They believe that family background and…

The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act requirement that states prepare and disseminate an annual state report card became effective at the beginning of the 2002-03 school year. Each state agency must also ensure that each local district collects appropriate data, both at the district level and for each school, and includes such data in its annual…

The federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001 (the latest revision of ESEA) has exerted strong pressure on the states to encourage local public schools to improve their standardized test scores. This emphasis reflects a desire on the part of politicians and policy makers for strict accountability in the form of current test scores that can…

It is difficult to find a person who unabashedly admires each and every detail of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act. However, amid all the howls and moans about the implementation of NCLB, the flywheel has been whirring, catching, and turning. In some places, it has turned more than in others, but no matter what the underlying philosophy or…

Presents the rationale for California's consideration of a program planning budgeting system and the political reasons for its decline. (DW)

Believing that educational reforms are overdue, the author proposes three radical solutions: only validated instructional programs should be implemented, results of systematic public assessments of pupil achievements in learning should be published annually, and teachers should periodically submit evidence of learning achievement in their classes.…

In New York City, a $25 million Annenberg grant was targeted to 100 individual schools to empower their staffs via innovative networks and accountability structures. However, the changes that graced the proposals did not create the desired momentum. Targeting school-level groups cannot in itself lead to systemwide change. Problems arose from…

Criteria, not uniform standards, are appropriate for schools, since neither available resources nor socioeconomic levels are uniform. Education's aim is not to train an army marching to the same drummer. Teachers' challenge is to provide conditions fostering the growth of personal characteristics that are socially important and personally…

Presents findings of a 5-year study of U.S. educational finance. Analyzes spending patterns across 50 states and examines staffing patterns and expenditures across curriculum areas in California, Florida, and New York. Although this century has seen a major investment in public education, funding has been distributed unfairly and used…

NCATE (the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education) has been unable to unify the teaching profession through professional accreditation standards; the largest impediment has been assertion of states' rights. The adoption of a common system of national accreditation is virtually a prerequisite to developing a respected,…

Characterizing this special "Kappan" section on test-based accountability as a cautionary plea, this article sees five themes: tests seldom measure what matters; standardization gets confused with standards; tests constitute a limited reform lever; test-based accountability plans often misplace trust and protection; and the…

Governor Jeb Bush and a Republican-dominated legislature have legislated a sweeping revision of the Florida education code that could qualify 150,000 of the state's 2.3 million public-school students for vouchers. A convenient diversion from true school reform, Bush's Opportunity Scholarship Program will be judged unconstitutional. (MLH)