Accountability and Testing |  NAEP & ESEA Testing |  NEA Resources |  Other Resources

Accountability Systems

As the emphasis on accountability - including holding schools and teachers accountable for student performance - grows, there are increasing calls to examine states' entire accountability systems, including standards, tests, alignment, professional development, rewards, sanctions, teacher quality, curriculum, resources, and the system's positive and negative effects on schools and students. 

Accountability systems work best when all their components function together in a coherent way to improve students' learning. Unfortunately, many systems are anything but coherent. Instead, they often are a conglomerate of different policies, programs, and regulations - which can and do work at cross-purposes. NEA supports "fair and effective . . . accountability systems,"  too, but we are concerned about the way they are being implemented.

To rectify this situation, NEA has developed a tool for assessing how well all the components of a state's accountability system are functioning. Created by direction of the NEA Executive Committee, A Tool for Auditing Standards-Based Education is a blueprint or framework that specifies components of a well-designed accountability system. 

NEA's Standards for the Implementation of Accountability Systems 

A Tool for Auditing Standards-Based Education is built around ten standards NEA believes need to be met if accountability is to fulfill its promise. The standards describe a system in which policies, resources, curriculum, instruction, assessment, and accountability requirements focus on a common goal: improving the achievement of all students. We suggest the NEA state and local affiliates-and others in the education community-assess the current way accountability systems function against the coherent accountability system that is described in the ten standards.

The standards are grounded in an extensive review of what educators, policymakers, researchers, parents, and observers suggest are the key elements of an effective accountability system:

• Student Achievement: All students are achieving at high levels.
• Resources: All students have access to the resources they need to attain high standards.
• Quality Teachers: All students are taught by teachers with the knowledge and skills to teach to high standards.
• Student Standards: Student standards are developed, implemented, and revised in ways that maximize their usefulness. 
• Curriculum and Instruction: Student standards inform curriculum and instruction.
• Fairness: Students are treated fairly in assessment programs and accountability systems. 
• Sound Assessments: Assessments that are used to make decisions affecting students, schools, or districts meet widely accepted technical and professional criteria.
• Assessment and accountability are used to improve teaching and learning.
• Shared Accountability: All stakeholders are accountable for making standards-based education work.
• Monitoring and Reporting: The implementation and impact of standards-based education is tracked and reported. 

Key Questions Related to Accountability Systems

NEA affiliates -and other educators- should ask themselves some key questions as they consider examine state or local accountability systems, including:

• How well is the accountability system working in our state or district?
• What are its intended effects on districts, schools, and students?
• What are its actual effects? How do we know?
• Is our assessment based on evidence so that others can be persuaded to improve the current situation?
• What is the most effective, strategic method for improving the accountability system? 

In-depth Criteria To Evaluate Accountability Systems

Each of the 10 standards NEA has developed to capture the characteristics of a well-designed accountability system includes several indicators--conditions that indicate the extent to which the standard is being met:

Indicators for Standard 1: All students are achieving at high levels.

1a. -- Achievement gaps that existed previously have been closed.

1b. -- Achievement is improving among the lowest performing schools and students.

1c. -- All students are attaining high academic standards.

1d. -- All students have access to engaging curriculum that is derived from the standards.

Indicators for Standard 2: All students have access to the resources they need to attain high standards.

2a. -- Appropriate class size enables teachers to provide students with individual attention.

2b. -- Resources match the new demands of standards-based education.

2c. -- Students needing special resources and services receive them.

Indicators for Standard 3: All students are taught by teachers with the knowledge and skills to teach to high standards.

3a. -- Teachers are fully licensed and teach only in their area(s) of certification or endorsement.

3b. -- Teachers engage in professional development that increases their knowledge and skills to teach to high standards.

3c. -- Policies and programs are in place to attract and retain qualified teachers.

3d. -- The profession's highest standards for accomplished teaching are supported.

Indicators for Standard 4: Student standards are developed, implemented, and revised in ways that maximize their usefulness.

4a. -- Student standards articulate a clear vision of what students should know and be able to do that reflects broad-based consensus.

4b. -- The number of standards is limited.

4c. -- The standards address significant or essential concepts, skills, and/or knowledge.

4d. -- Content standards are aligned across subject areas and grades.

4e. -- Performance standards define multiple degrees of content mastery.

4f. -- Teachers and others periodically review and revise the standards.

Indicators for Standard 5: Student standards inform curriculum and instruction.

5a. -- Student standards are used to plan curriculum and instruction.

5b. -- Curriculum and instruction reflect, but are not limited to, state or local standards.

5c. -- The curriculum is rich and deep.

5d. -- Teachers determine how they will educate all students to attain high standards.

Indicators for Standard 6: Students are treated fairly in assessment and accountability systems.

6a. -- No decision affecting individual students is based on results from a single assessment.

6b. -- All students are included in required assessments, with appropriate accommodations (or alternative assessments) as needed.

6c. -- Performance on required assessments is reported for all students and for subgroups of students.

6d. -- Performance levels (or passing scores) reflect broad input and are linked to student standards.

6e. -- Scores on required assessments are only one indicator of student, school, or district performance.

6f. -- The state monitors the effects of the assessment program and accountability system on students, schools, and districts.

6g. -- Contextual information needed to interpret students' performance is reported.

Indicators for Standard 7: Assessments that are used to make decisions affecting students, schools, or districts meet widely accepted technical and professional criteria.

7a. -- The assessments that are included in the assessment and accountability system are used for the purposes for which they were designed.

7b. -- Assessments that are used to measure educational quality are designed specifically for this purpose.

7c. -- Required state (and local) assessments measure the skills and knowledge described in student standards.

7d. -- The assessments are valid for all student populations tested.

7e. -- The assessments provide information on students' current achievement and their progress over time.

Indicators for Standard 8: Assessment and accountability are used to improve teaching and learning.

8a. -- Assessment programs and accountability systems provide complete and useful information for teachers, schools, and districts.

8b. -- Assessment results and accountability information are used to improve students' and schools' performance.

8c. -- Teachers receive assessment results from required assessments in a timely manner and in a form they can use for planning.

8d. -- The time spent preparing for and administering required assessments is limited.

Indicators for Standard 9: All stakeholders are accountable for making standards-based education work.

9a. -- Stakeholders understand the goals, purposes, and consequences of the accountability system.

9b. -- Schools are accountable for the progress of their students in attaining high academic standards.

9c. -- The state (or district) is accountable for building schools' capacity to educate all students to high standards.

9d. -- Families are accountable for sending their children to school and for supporting schools' and teachers' efforts to the best of their ability.

9e. -- Policymakers are accountable for decisions that affect the success of standards-based education.

Indicators for Standard 10: The implementation and impact of standards-based education are tracked and reported.

10a. -- The state (or district) tracks and reports information on the implementation and impact of standards-based education in a timely way for a variety of audiences.

10b. -- The state (or district) uses information on implementation and impact to improve the success of standards-based education.

10c. -- The state (or district) reports information that helps in the appropriate interpretation of assessment and accountability results.