Title: Grading education : getting accountability right /
Authors: Rothstein, Richard; Jacobsen, Rebecca.; Wilder, Tamara.
Publisher: Economic Policy Institute ; Teachers College Press,
Year: 2008
Subjects: Educational accountability United States.; Education and state United States.; Education United States Evaluation; Academic achievement United States; Education United States
Abstract: " ... Instead of just grading progress in one or two narrow subjects, we should hold schools accountable for the broad outcomes we expect from public education -- basic knowledge and skills, critical thinking, an appreciation of the arts, physical and emotional health, and preparation for skilled employment -- and then develop the means to measure and ensure schools' success in achieving them. Grading Education describes a new kind of accountability plan for public education, one that relies on higher-quality testing, focuses on professional evaluation, and builds on capacities we already possess ..."
Contents: The outcome goals of American public education -- Weighting the goals of public education -- Goal distortion -- Perverse accountability -- Accountability by the numbers -- Early NAEP -- School boards, accreditation, and Her Majesty's inspectors -- An accountability system for schools and other institutions of youth development -- Appendices: Schools as scapegoats -- A broader, bolder approach to education -- Goals survey methodology -- Teacher accounts of goal distortion.