Ten Reasons Accountability Matters

School accountability. In some circles, the term has become a dirty word. But here are 10 reasons that the fundamentals of accountability -- raising academic standards, testing students regularly to see if they grasp them, and assigning some consequence to the results  -- still matter.  

These points come from education leaders who participated in interviews this year for The A Word: Accountability--The Dirty Word of Today's School Reform. You can read those full conversations at this Bush Center link. 

Why Accountability Matters 

• The fundamental responsibility of schools is to kids, and you can’t help kids and schools improve if you can’t diagnose a problem. http://www.bushcenter.org/publications/articles/2017/10/a-word-spellings.html
• Before accountability, schools could hide low-achieving students, especially poor and minority kids. http://www.bushcenter.org/publications/articles/2017/10/a-word-john-king.html
• Without accountability systems identifying a problem, states and districts don't have to get low-performing schools adequate resources. http://www.bushcenter.org/publications/articles/2017/10/a-word-spellings.html
• Accountability is about helping schools meet goals – and getting support to meet those goals. http://www.bushcenter.org/publications/articles/2017/11/a-word-boasberg.html
• Accountability can lead to the restoration or replacement of a school that is not serving its students well over time and shows no signs of improving with the right supports. http://www.bushcenter.org/publications/articles/2017/11/a-word-boasberg.html
• Accountability is a way to drive results for kids who have no voice, especially for students with learning disabilities or whose native language is not English. http://www.bushcenter.org/publications/articles/2017/11/a-word-tavenner.html
• Students and their families need to know if they are receiving a good education that will put them on the path to the middle class. http://www.bushcenter.org/publications/articles/2017/10/a-word-skandera.html
• Accountability leads to quality educators being rewarded and low-level teachers leaving the system. http://www.bushcenter.org/publications/articles/2017/11/a-word-huffman.html
• Accountability keeps a spotlight on rural districts that are often overshadowed by urban districts. http://www.bushcenter.org/publications/articles/2017/11/a-word-smith.html
• Who wants to be on a team where no one is accountable?  http://www.bushcenter.org/publications/articles/2017/11/a-word-boasberg.html