The 2005 National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing (CRESST) conference marked the 20th year of work on critically important accountability topics by the UCLA institution, "a tremendous accomplishment for a research center," according to Aimee Dorr, dean of the Graduate School of Education and Information Studies.…

This report presents the results of the joint 2005-06 project of the Nordic Quality Assurance Network in Higher Education (NOQA). The project focused on the European standards and guidelines for quality assurance agencies, examining them in a Nordic perspective. The project aimed at interpreting and clarifying the European standards and guidelines…

There can be little doubt that there is wide variation in the rigor and quality of state standards and assessments. Moreover, it is clear that the vast majority of states have set their academic achievement bar far lower than federal standards, as measured by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). Since No Child Left Behind (NCLB)…

Influenced by worldwide globalization forces new structures of control have emerged in Mexico at the school level, and career ladders reward teachers' compliance with testing and training schemes; nevertheless the long-standing institutions of initial teacher education continue to show a strong resistance to change. Increased accountability is…

The National Education Association has strongly supported the Elementary and Secondary Education Act since its inception in 1965. But the law's most recent reauthorization, the 2001 No Child Left Behind Act, is fundamentally flawed, writes NEA President Reg Weaver. Weaver offers NEA's recommendations for revising the law and addressing these…

This is a study of high schools and their districts receiving Comprehensive School Reform (CSR) grants that have used those grants to support implementation of the Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) model. Over a 4-year period 10 such high schools in 5 districts have been examined to determine if schoolwide or district-wide…

Under the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), every school is subject to the controversial mandates for annual test score gains contained in the federal law. The law represents a profound change in the relationship between the federal government and state and local education agencies regarding who controls education and has direct implications for…

States' policy approaches to accountability tend to divide between a primary emphasis on input guarantees and a primary emphasis on performance guarantees. In the midst of keen controversies about the impact of high-stakes testing under the No Child Left Behind Act, this article examines separate and joint effects of input-guarantee versus…

A discussion of issues related to accountability in adult English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) programs looks at ways in which current quality and accountability measures address the real issues of adult immigrant education. First, the strengths and weaknesses of accountability schema that have been developed in other education contexts are…

In the service of accountability, educators have been emphasizing the student as consumer, client, customer. Consequently, assessment is asking the wrong questions of the wrong people. Outcome measures are often intended to evaluate student and teacher performance rather than to assess teaching and learning. Anthony Petrosky's study of literacy in…

Neither teacher-made tests nor the Scholastic Aptitude Test are appropriate for measuring the attainment of national education goals. Most practitioners involved in discussions of national high-stakes examinations argue that new tests are needed. A new system that preserves state and local autonomy in education as it measures the attainment of…

In Canada today there is a clear move toward a more outcomes-based education system. This report examines the state of high school student assessment and reviews standards and accountability strategies. It reports on the policies, programs, and initiatives in all provincial ministries or departments of education and a sample of school boards…

This essay presents the results of a study of the means that colleges and universities should use to assure proper accountability within the institution in regard to teaching and learning. It discusses the basis of institutional accountability, public perceptions of accountability (or lack thereof), the role of governments and market forces, the…

This theme issue focuses on the drastic revision of the Texas education code undertaken during the 1995 state legislative session. "Education Policy Reform: Key Points for Districts" (Albert Cortez, Mikki Symonds) outlines critical issues in the legislation that have an impact on educational quality: charter schools exempt from state…

This report charts a vision for preparing California teachers for the 21st century. The report is an adaptation of the national framework found in the Association of Teacher Educators' report, "Restructuring the Education of Teachers." Recognizing that learning to be an effective teacher is a developmental process, the report is…