A new report from the National Education Policy Center at the University of Colorado Boulder argues that the U.S. should consider adopting a European-style accountability system, where schools self-evaluate and then receive feedback from trained site visitors.
The U.S. test-based accountability model holds schools and teachers accountable for student outcomes with little attention to school improvement processes. The authors examine an approach used in several European counties, which entails more school-centered accountability efforts, such as school self-evaluation followed by inspection (SSE/I) to examine school quality.
SSE/I is a complex policy instrument with mixed consequences and many research questions still to be answered. Moreover, accountability models from other countries cannot be naively imported to the U.S. given the vital distinctions in sociopolitical contexts. That being said, a look at some of the purposes or principles behind SSE/I—especially its emphasis on quality improvement—can nevertheless inform efforts to redesign and improve the U.S. accountability model. The purpose of this brief is to take just such a look at this model.
Following are the five recommendations made in the report:
- Instead of sanctions-based inspections for making summative judgments about schools, employ external reviews that focus on providing guidance and support for school development and improvement.
- Employ as external reviewers qualified experts who meet a prescribed standard for qualifications and required experience.
- Incorporate a broad set of school quality criteria that goes beyond standardized test scores to adequately represent other valued aspects of quality teaching and learning.
- Include the perspectives of multiple stakeholders (administrators, teachers, students, parents, community leaders, and researchers) in design efforts, allowing all key stakeholder groups to participate directly.
- Recalibrate and revitalize existing state resources (e.g., regional offices of education) to support external review initiatives.
Despite necessary cautions surrounding SSE/I, the researchers suggest that SSE/I’s underlying purposes and principles, in particular its focus on quality improvement, can help inform the redesign and improvement of the U.S. approach.
For more information, please visit:
http://nepc.colorado.edu/publication/school-self-evaluation
