Following protests from teachers' unions, the board scuttled a proposal that would have required all teachers to undergo a job evaluation every five years by a team including master teachers from outside the school. Instead, the regents ordered changes designed to add rigor to the annual job evaluations that teachers receive from local administrators. In addition, they required that beginning in 2001 school report cards list performance-related information about teachers, such as the number who have been rated unsatisfactory. As a sequel to the teaching reforms, Commissioner Mills has launched an initiative focusing on leadership, both among administrators and local school board members. If schools are to be accountable for learning, he argues, strides in this arena are imperative.
Accountability requires sustained leadership.