Accountability is one of the most advocated and controversial topics in US education. Since the early 2000s, the federal government has produced a vibrant discourse on accountability, which emphasizes quality, efficiency, and equal opportunity in education. As part of the larger phenomenon of new managerialism, the dominant forms of accountability…

National reports on higher education are seen as a form of democratic propaganda whose aim is participation. Their progress is described through content analysis of media responses. "Aesthetic judgment" is seen as the key to participation in reform by college faculty and administrators. (Author/MLW)