Accountability

Voices from the Field: Educators respond to accountability
In an effort to understand teachers’ and administrators’ experiences with public school accountability, PACE established the Educators Response to Accountability Project. Through in-depth interviews with educators in eight elementary schools across California, the report reveals the complex and often contradictory ways educators respond to accountability pressures.
http://pace.berkeley.edu/ERAP_Report-WEB.pdf

California’s Accountability System
http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/ac/pa/
An entry point for articles and documents on the components of the Public School Accountability Act (PSAA) with additional links that address the Academic Progress Index (API) and a comparative look at PSAA and the federal No Child Left Behind.
http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/ac/ay/apiaypelements04.asp

WestED - Regional Educational Laboratory serving California, Arizona, Utah, and Nevada, WestEd is a nonprofit research, development, and service agency. WestEd tracks current trends in education reform and highlights developments through research-based policy analyses and reports analyses in Policy Perspectives, Policy Briefs, and other research reports. WestEd responds to requests from policymakers for specific, topic-related analysis. Serves as a vital resource for policymakers and press wanting to learn more about current and recent policies in the world of education.
www.wested.org

Locally Tailored Accountability: Building Your State System in the Era of NCLB
This Knowledge Brief provides a rationale for developing a local education accountability system that complements the state’s federally prescribed effort under No Child Left Behind. The brief identifies the key decisions that must be made in creating a local system and identifies resources that can inform and help guide the process.
http://www.wested.org/online_pubs/KN-04-01.pdf

The Future Federal Role: Observations and Ideas
Christopher Cross discusses implications for the federal role in education including, (1) the federal directions already established, (2) potential new federal policies, (3) factors that will influence federal policy, (4) what will not happen within the coming decade, and (5) what remains that requires attention. He concludes with a discussion of congressional organization and how it affects schools.
http://www.wested.org/cs/pol/view/rs/723

PRI - Pacific Research Institute. Its mission is to champion freedom, opportunity, and personal responsibility by advancing free-market policy solutions. The website provides links to publications and research on topics such as accountability, CA diversity, and opportunities to learn.
www.pacificresearch.org

Rethinking Federal Roles
This briefing explains the scope and nature of federal involvement in California schools. It also examines the federal relationship with the CDE and assesses its efficiency and productivity for students. It addresses the overlay of NCLB with California’s current accountability and sets forth a proposal for reform for federal government’s role in California’s schools.
http://www.pacificresearch.org/pub/sab/educat/rethinking_fed_roles/main.html

AIR - American Institutes of Research, a local and national non-partisan social science research center, covers a range of issues, including education, student assessment, international education, usability design and testing, and statistical and research methods. The AIR education pages offer reports and commentary on Adult Education and Literacy, Early Childhood, Education Evidence and Indicators, Education Finance, Special Education, School Reform and Higher Education.
www.air.org