EdWeek: Rethinking the Way We Hold Schools Accountable

Helen Ladd's article does a good job of summarizing the research on test-based accountability. We hope you will click the link and read the whole thing yourself. In case you aren't going to do that, we offer some snippets to whet your appetite:

• An important virtue of test-based accountability is that it appeals to three quite different views of what is wrong with American schools. Proponents of standards-based reform hail it as one component of a broader strategy to overcome the fragmented and incoherent nature of the K-12 education system. Others see it as a way to pressure inefficient teachers and school administrators into becoming more productive. Still others embrace it as a tool to address the huge disparities in educational outcomes across groups defined by race or by income.
• Enough time has now passed—and enough research been done—to draw some conclusions about the strengths and limitations of this reform strategy and to suggest a more balanced approach.
  
• We know that test-based accountability systems can be powerful tools for changing the behavior of educators. Studies have consistently shown, for example, that educators focus additional attention on the tested subjects, notably basic reading and math, and reduce attention on others. Depending on one’s values, this impact may be considered positive or negative.
• The bottom line is clear: Test-based accountability has not generated the significant gains in student achievement that proponents—however they perceived the problem to be solved—intended. Nor is the country on track to meet either the high proficiency standards required under the No Child Left Behind law or the equity goals suggested by its name.
• As a reform strategy, test-based accountability falls short in at least three ways.

1. First, it pays too little attention to the social factors that affect student achievement.
2. Second, the approach pays too little attention to the broader system within which individual schools operate.
3. Third, test-based accountability tends to be punitive and pays too little attention to promoting effective process and practice within schools.

• The second half of the article is Ladd's description of what a "more balanced system" would look like.