This guidance supersedes the Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education (OCTAE) Program Memorandum (PM) 20-2, published February 6, 2020, and developed jointly by the U.S. Departments of Labor and Education (the Departments). Through this updated guidance, the Departments: (1) Revise their approach to using the statistical adjustment model…

This study was an autoethnography of the turnaround efforts of a Chicano leader in four low-performing schools in Texas. The U.S. Government and the State of Texas both impose sanctions on schools that fail to meet minimum standards on the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) exams. The focus in the research was on how life…

High stakes test-based accountability systems primarily rely on aggregates and derivatives of scores from tests that were originally developed to measure individual student proficiency in subject areas such as math, reading/language arts, and now English language proficiency. Current validity models do not explicitly address this use of aggregate…

Background/Context: The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act was a performance-based accountability policy designed to motivate educators and administrators to change their behaviors and improve school and student outcomes. The simple logic behind this accountability policy was that they would change their behaviors to avoid sanctions. Many studies…

Despite significant investments, lower-income countries face a learning crisis. A clamor has thus arisen worldwide for greater accountability of those involved in service delivery. To obtain new insights, the UNESCO Global Education Monitoring Report was dedicated to accountability in 2017, and the research on this topic was reviewed. A summary is…

This program memorandum informs states that the U.S. Departments of Labor and Education (the Departments) have determined it is appropriate and reasonable for the Department of Labor (DOL) to begin assessing performance for two performance indicators under Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) title I and III core programs for Program…

The purpose of this research was to investigate the experiences and perceptions of community college administrators who lead campus accreditation initiatives including the accreditation visit. The study investigated administrator perceptions of compulsory or psychological pressure when involved with accreditation activities. The study employs the…

Higher education in the United States is regulated by a triad of the federal government, state governments, and private accreditors. Rather than relying on bureaucrats to ensure quality, federal policy defers such assurance to accrediting agencies. This empowers accreditors to determine which colleges can access financial aid and establishes their…

Tuition-dependent colleges and universities face increasing competition for students. This study examined whether accreditation sanctions might serve as signals of quality and relate to enrollment. Results of a panel analysis showed enrollment declined for institutions after being placed on sanction with their regional accreditor. Specifically,…

This study identifies seven major trends in how states and districts are implementing college- and career-ready standards for general education students and for two special populations often the target of education policy--English language learners (ELLs) and students with disabilities (SWDs). We draw on state-representative teacher, principal,…

This study identifies seven major trends in how states and districts are implementing college- and career-ready standards for general education students and for two special populations often the target of education policy--English language learners (ELLs) and students with disabilities (SWDs). We draw on state-representative teacher, principal,…

The conjoining of Indiana state and federal accountability plans during the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) flexibility waiver (2012-2015) was an attempt at one combined system to furnish information in a simple and transparent manner, while obscuring the performances of English learner's (EL) English progress and EL reclassification. We identify how…

High school graduation rates have increased dramatically in the past two decades. Some skepticism has arisen, however, because of the confluence of the graduation rise and the starts of high-stakes accountability for graduation rates with "No Child Left Behind" (NCLB). In this study we provide some of the first evidence about the role of…

The Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act (Perkins Act) is the primary federal law aimed at developing and supporting career and technical education (CTE) programs for secondary and postsecondary students. In the 109th Congress, the Perkins Act was reauthorized by the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Improvement Act of…

Recent trends in higher education (rising debt, school closures, increasing tuition) have increased interest in improving accountability and oversight in U.S. higher education beyond current accreditation practices. Common solutions include using quantitative measures like graduation and default rates to benchmark performance. Using historical…