Now that Congress has reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act and given states control over their own accountability systems, what will states do with the new flexibility?
Pretty much the same thing they have been doing for the past four years, says a report released by the Council of Chief State School Officers. More specifically: States will continue crafting and implementing accountability systems that build on nine basic principles outlined by state education leaders back in 2011.
In 2011, CCSSO, on behalf of the states, released a vision for accountability as laid out in nine accountability principles (the Principles). These Principles were intended to serve as the framework for advancing state accountability systems beyond the limitations of No Child Left Behind (NCLB). While our understanding of effective practices in accountability has evolved, these Principles continue to serve as an important framework for CCSSO’s vision for accountability systems. States remain committed to these Principles and will continue to design and implement systems that align to this framework.
Outlined in this document are the principles as well as examples of states that have utilized these principles in their state accountability systems. The principles are:
- Alignment of performance goals to college- and career-ready standards
- Annual determinations for each school and district
- Focus on student outcomes
- Continued commitment to disaggregation
- Reporting of timely, actionable, and accessible data
- Deeper diagnostic reviews
- Building school and district capacity
- Targeting lowest performing schools
- Innovation, evaluation, and continuous improvement
