ERIC Number: EJ1480705
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2025-Dec
Pages: 14
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: EISSN-2731-5525
Available Date: 2025-08-18
Virtual School Parent Perceptions of Public School Accountability
Ian Kingsbury1; David T. Marshall2; Robert Maranto3
Discover Education, v4 Article 296 2025
While school accountability systems were implemented to improve student outcomes through increased transparency, creating linkages between successful behaviors and rewards, they have often faced controversy. One strand of criticism posits that the systems are designed to reward conformity, punishing schools that deviate from standardization. Another is that the systems appraising school quality do not necessarily align with parent values and goals. This study touches upon both themes by surveying parents of students in full-time virtual schools (n = 1012), asking them to devise an accountability framework for such schools. While there is broad disagreement about which metrics should be privileged in evaluating virtual schools, evidence indicates that parents place far less emphasis on state summative assessments than do compliance-oriented school performance frameworks.
Descriptors: Virtual Schools, Parent Attitudes, Public Schools, Accountability, Institutional Evaluation, Summative Evaluation, Compliance (Legal), School Choice
Springer. Available from: Springer Nature. One New York Plaza, Suite 4600, New York, NY 10004. Tel: 800-777-4643; Tel: 212-460-1500; Fax: 212-460-1700; e-mail: customerservice@springernature.com; Web site: https://link.springer.com/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: 1Educational Freedom Institute, Phoenix, USA; 2Auburn University, Auburn, USA; 3University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, USA

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