: Assessing vocational schools» performance
standards and accountability measures
Instead, we found that despite Massachusetts» detailed system of
standards and accountability measures, most new teachers we interviewed received little or no guidance about what to teach or how to teach it.
Not exact matches
Everything today is out there — to be tracked,
measured, reported
and shared —
and every business, source, publisher, supplier
and vendor will be held to new
standards of measurement
and accountability as users
and customers increasingly demand concrete results
and performance metrics to justify their outlays.
But the proposal's pitfall is that it assumes colleges will respond to
accountability measures by improving teaching
and maintaining rigor rather than simply lowering
standards in the interest of pushing students through.
Performing near the national average in
standards and accountability, the state could improve on its assessment
and accountability measures.
Rather than expounding the pains
and injustices
and prescribing a «sensitivity» reform, however, let's examine various schools
and curricula on the
standard accountability measure.
Such an
accountability movement would continue to call for rigorous
standards, regular testing,
and interventions in schools that don't
measure up.
There must be high academic
standards, objective
measures of student progress
and accountability for providers.
Back in 1989, Bill Clinton
and his fellow governors first pushed labor to swallow more demanding learning
standards and stiff
accountability measures, betting this would renew voters» confidence in the schools.
[8] Critics said that Secretary Duncan was going beyond what the law allows by substituting the Obama administration's favored education reforms (including national curriculum - content
standards and tests) for NCLB's
accountability measures.
Greening said in a letter to the education committee chair, Neil Carmichael, that she was «determined to continue to raise
standards»
and would include the new «strong pass» as an
accountability measure for schools.
The courts» role in this process is to outline in general, principled terms the expectation that the legislative
and executive branches will develop challenging
standards, fair
and adequate funding systems,
and effective programs
and accountability measures, but to leave to the programs
and the political branches the full responsibility for actually formulating these policies.
Almost all now have
standards for what students should know in core subjects, tests to
measure student learning,
and at least the beginnings of an
accountability system to hold schools responsible for results.»
ED's press release explains, «The administration's proposal for fixing NCLB calls for college
and career - ready
standards, more great teachers
and principals, robust use of data
and a more flexible
and targeted
accountability system based on
measuring annual student growth.
With the advent of «
standards» with the accompanying
accountability measures [sic]
and then highly prescriptive textbooks with pacing guides that districts enforced via evaluations (
and then, of course, there were the test scores) things became much more regimented in the classrooms.
From a policy standpoint, the adoption of SEL
standards, funding for teacher professional development,
and the incorporation of school climate into
measures of
accountability are all potential levers (among many) to support empowerment efforts.
In
standards - based reform, much of the attention has been on states as the entities responsible for setting academic
standards, developing testing systems to
measure the
standards,
and then putting
accountability systems in place based on those
standards.
For almost two decades, school
accountability has focused on creating clear content
standards for what students should know
and when they should know it, testing to
measure their mastery of those
standards,
and applying consequences
and rewards to those responsible for the success of students in meeting the
standards.
Almost every state is now instituting
accountability systems to
measure progress in
standards - based reform,
and almost every such system depends heavily on testing as an indicator of student or school performance.
With the advent of «
standards» with the accompanying
accountability measures [sic]
and then highly prescriptive textbooks with pacing guides that districts enforced via evaluations (
and then, of course, there... Read More
But here the story is more complicated, because Massachusetts combined strong non-financial remedial
measures — strong
standards, enhanced assessments,
and strict
accountability measures — with increased funding.
Among them are a focus within preschool programs on teaching pre-academic skills; the conceptualization of the role of the adults who provide center - based care as that of a teacher; a bias towards delivering pre-K services through school districts; a press towards common
standards and curriculum across pre-K providers;
accountability regimens that are tied to children's performance on
measures that correlate with later school success; disproportionate spending on four - year - olds as opposed to younger children;
and marginalization of the family's responsibility.
«In this age of educational
accountability through
standards and assessments with only one right answer
and success
measured by test scores, we need to keep young minds open for alternative ways of thinking... teach students not to get a job, but create one.»
The courts» role in this process is to outline in general, principled terms the expectation that the legislative
and executive branches will develop challenging
standards, fair
and adequate funding systems,
and effective
accountability measures, but to leave to the programs
and the political branches the full responsibility for actually formulating these policies.
They entailed
standards in core subjects, plenty of testing, reams of (disaggregated) data, lots of transparency regarding school outcomes,
and accountability measures tied to those outcomes.
While elements such as state
standards,
accountability measures,
and value added
measures are gaining acceptance, other important components, especially performance - based pay
and increased choice options, are opposed by powerful forces — such as the politically connected teachers unions — with vested interests in the current system.
Contemporary
accountability policies have created the added expectation that districts will differentiate support to schools on the basis of achievement results from state testing programs
and other
accountability measures, with particular attention to be given to schools where large numbers of students are not meeting
standards of proficiency.
In all districts, leaders were attentive to state test results
and other required
accountability measures (e.g., graduation rates, attendance)-- for individual schools
and for the district in relation to state proficiency
standards and AYP targets.
«We believe Indiana's growth model is the best student growth
measure in the nation,
and we believe we can develop an
accountability system that uses clear labels, incorporates student growth,
and still maintains rigorous
standards,» Indiana Department of Education spokesperson Alex Damron said Friday.
They are subject to the same
measures of
accountability and standards as traditional public schools, as well as the collective bargaining agreements made with teachers unions.
Most voucher programs lack
accountability measures,
and according to studies of voucher programs, many also lack proper oversight to ensure they meet even the minimal
standards that do exist.
School performance
measures are used just as much by officials to monitor
standards and ultimately Progress 8 is an
accountability measure.
Education reforms approved in the early 1990s helped forge a system based on higher
standards,
measured results
and accountability.
Upon reflecting on what each of these experts said, the good news is that the core principles of
accountability that have guided progress in our schools are still widely agreed to: setting high
standards, assessing regularly to those
standards,
measuring improvement,
and providing supports for students
and consequences for schools that don't improve.
In fact, they make it clear that historically the PSSA exams were designed for school level
accountability and only later have moved toward
measuring individual student mastery of Pennsylvania's academic
standards.
But school
accountability simply means
measuring the progress of all students against rigorous
standards and assigning consequences to the results.
Administrators are able to actively
measure and monitor
standard alignment,
accountability,
and implementation of expectations
and standards.
During his tenure, he made the MTA the voice of the profession
and established the teachers union as a partner in developing
and implementing state
and federal policy such as teacher - evaluation frameworks, new curriculum
standards, district
and school
accountability measures, while strengthening labor - management collaboration focused on improving student achievement.
We need to transform education into a true profession with
standards for performance, metrics for
measuring performance,
and accountability that celebrates high performance
and jettisons low performing teachers
and administrators from the system.
However, with so much time
and effort undertaken at the state level in the implementation of
accountability measures such as Student Learning Objective (SLOs), prescribed teaching
standard frameworks or rubrics,
and student achievement data, I can not imagine a scenario in which states would abandon their new methods for grading teachers.
We must also recognize that the
accountability and performance
measures for students in an RTC must be different from the
standard since these students are not leading the «
standard» lives.
Further, the
standards under Texas» new Performance Framework (an additional system of
standards for charter schools
measuring the performance of a charter school, which are separate
and apart from state
accountability standards) must take into account the uniqueness of charter schools located within an RTC
and truly
measure according to the mission of the school.
«Mississippi has built a strong foundation for its public education system that includes rigorous academic
standards for all students, aligned assessments to evaluate student achievement
and an
accountability model that clearly
measures the performance of our schools
and districts.
As I have noted, stronger
standards alone aren't the only reason why student achievement has improved within this period; at the same time, the higher expectations for student success fostered by the
standards (along with the
accountability measures put in place by the No Child Left Behind Act, the expansion of school choice, reform efforts by districts such as New York City,
and efforts by organizations such as the College Board
and the National Science
and Math Initiative to get more poor
and minority students to take Advanced Placement
and other college prep courses), has helped more students achieve success.
The priorities, which will be core to a new
accountability system, include school climate, student engagement, access to courses leading to college
and careers
and the implementation of new academic
standards, such as the Common Core State
Standards, as well as
measures of student achievement.
As teachers are expected to respond to the Common Core
standards while facing expanding instructional
accountability measures, providing the time
and support necessary to transform their thinking — such as common planning time — can help them make deeply substantial changes.
In the current landscape where
standards,
accountability assessments,
and use of student value - added
measures to evaluate teachers prevail, the researchers expanded survey respondents to include students to better understand their awareness
and what value — if any — they perceive in educational testing.
Coasting
and floor
standards will be scrapped,
and replaced with a «single, transparent»
accountability measure that will prompt government «support» for schools, but not academisation.
Increasing funding in 2002, No Child Left Behind required the adoption of a common set of english
and math
standards correlated with achievement goals along,
measured by standardized testing for federal
accountability.
• Academic
Accountability — Significantly increase the State
standards for K - 12 district
and campus performance, add college readiness as a
standard,
measure it with the SAT or ACT exam for high school exit,
and install urgent
and serious consequences for underperforming campuses.