This paper provides a brief overview of the current state of federal accountability and the need for change, and a summary of the landscape of state accountability reforms through funding structures for public colleges and universities. It explores key questions or decision points that must be addressed in designing a federal accountability system…

In 1999, California was among the first schools in the nation to initiate an accountability model for public education using a method for system measurement of academic improvement constructed on the bedrock of standards-based education. The State also included a new twist...sanctions. Schools that failed to make expected progress, as measured…

This paper explores what lessons can be learned from the experiences of states that instituted NCLB-like accountability systems prior to 2001 (here called first-generation accountability systems). It looks at the experiences of three smaller states (Kentucky, Maryland, North Carolina), four larger ones (California, Florida, New York, Texas), and…