New models of accountability

Most of us -- parents, educators, community leaders, journalists -- agree that schools must be held accountable for student success. Without such accountability, how can we hope to raise the academic performance of all students?

But what do we mean by accountability? Does that mean we judge a school's quality solely on the results of student test performance?

Education researcher Linda Darling Hammond warns that school accountability should not focus exclusively on student achievement data. It's too easy, she says, to fabricate "an illusion of effectiveness" by comparing results to less well-situated schools, or to reward teachers who teach only to the test (with drill and skill worksheets) and needlessly limit what children learn.

Test scores are important -- but so are other indicators such as systematic review of student work samples, parental input on report cards, family conferences, and student interviews, surveys, reading logs and inventories.

Some schools have poor working conditions and a high teacher turnover; they may be so underfunded that they have few curriculum resources and may even lack test-taking preparation materials.

A number of research studies have shown that student achievement differences virtually disappear when minority students have access to comparable curricular opportunities and experienced, qualified teachers. Darling-Hammond does not claim that resources predict student results, but she says they are a prerequisite for many school conditions that influence teaching quality and student learning.

Questions like these could be used to help judge a school's success: How is time allocated across activities and subject areas? What kinds of knowledge and skills do teachers possess; and how are these resources deployed in best interests of all students? How are teachers and students grouped for instruction? How and how often are parents involved in decisions and school activities? How is class time used? What kinds of intellectual materials do students encounter? What do students (and parents) think about school experiences?

Some schools in New York are involved in a new, rigorous accountability program that goes far beyond the usual paper tabulations of success and failure. A team of professional educators visit a school for a week. They focus on student work, direct observations of teaching and learning, student shadowing, interviews, and group forums. It's not unusual for a five-person team to observe 44 teachers teaching 128 lessons, conduct 26 interviews, and attend 17 school meetings and activities.

The feedback from these expert teams, teachers say, serves as a powerful form of professional development and promotes systematic thinking about ways to continuously improve the school.#