Presenting evidence of widespread racism in schools and its negative effect on children of color, authors argue for the use of state accountability systems to achieve educational equity and social justice for racial minorities. Results of Texas achievement test showing a narrowing of academic achievement gap between whites and minorities are cited…

Reports results of research on efforts by the Houston School District to raise students' reading and mathematics scores on the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills. Houston lowered the achievement gap between whites and Hispanics and African-Americans and made greater gains than the five other major urban school districts. (PKP)

Describes four ways that principals can provide leadership to overcome several school culture barriers to accountability: Be a champion for standards; emphasize learning, not performance; educate the public; and protect the things that matter. (PKP)

Comparative analysis of state performance-based accountability systems (PABS), which consist of five components: standards, assessments, multiple indicators, rewards, and sanctions. Discusses three unintended consequences of PABS: narrowing of curriculum, teaching to the test, and timeliness of available data. (Contains eight references.) (PKP)

Describes findings and recommendations of the first annual report of the Massachusetts Education Reform Review Commission, which focused on standards and assessments, accountability, district and teacher capacity, and funding. (PKP)

To meet ambitious goals, districts and schools must redefine priorities, decide how to meet them, and allocate resources appropriately. This means restructuring salaries to attract and retain superior teachers, redirecting spending from compliance to supporting performance goals, investing strategically in professional development, and reducing…

The Primary Prevention of Cancer Program at the British Columbia Cancer Agency Centre for the Southern Interior (BCCA-CSI), known as the Waddell Project, is now five years old and currently is in partnership with fourteen regional communities. Each of these communities has a range of community-developed programs currently in place. The driving…

In an effort to bring greater conceptual richness and analytical rigor to bear on the question of postsecondary policy innovation, this study builds on the work of Hearn and Griswold (1994) by analyzing the determinants of state policy innovation in the postsecondary arena over nearly a 20-year period. Specifically, the authors employ longitudinal…

In this article, the author argues that using test scores as the sole indicator of students' and teachers' knowledge and skills is harming students and driving the best teachers from the profession. Research by the Abell Foundation indicates that clear links could be found between teachers' verbal and cognitive abilities and the achievement of…

Administrators of business schools across the country are coming under increasing pressure to demonstrate accountability in many ways, from curriculum to faculty development. As such, department heads are being asked to formalize processes and assess outcomes for purposes of "continuous improvement". Toward this end, it is vitally important for…

This paper considers the professional responsibility of schools in England to provide effective induction practices in the context of a central government mandated policy. It looks at individual schools as "habitats" for induction and the role of school leaders and LEAs as facilitators or inhibitors. Notions of professional…

Standardized tests are an essential part of the school equation today. Properly used, tests can measure improvement over time, inform the public, and tell us what portions of our population may not be receiving a good education. What we must not permit is the abuse of test results in high-stakes, standards-based accountability programs. Certainly…

With the publication of A Nation at Risk in 1983, a "culture war" against public education in the United States commenced. Education was linked to the nation's economic competitiveness and blamed for declining productivity, and the flag of higher standards and greater accountability was raised. Over the past twenty years both the generals and the…

The Summer 2004 issue of Research Points, a four-page flier from the American Educational Research Association, opens with the fundamental case for value-added assessment: Today's accountability systems place the blame on schools for inadequate student academic achievement, which seems unfair to many people. They believe that family background and…

The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act requirement that states prepare and disseminate an annual state report card became effective at the beginning of the 2002-03 school year. Each state agency must also ensure that each local district collects appropriate data, both at the district level and for each school, and includes such data in its annual…