Within a culture of accountability the goal of setting academic standards is matched by an equal and explicit commitment to measuring student performance relative to the standards. Leaders must share one ground rule. Teachers are neither judged nor blamed for performance problems. Leaders celebrate that problems are identified because only then can student performance be improved. Accountability systems that effectively support student achievement are teacher-driven.
Teachers participate in all facets of the transparent design process.
Teachers develop standards, align curriculum, and engage students in common assessment tools. They draw conclusions about student performance from the data and adjust teaching and practice accordingly. The school's culture supports the conviction that informing and improving teacher practice must be the basis for accountability decisions. Too often schools build accountability systems whose primary audience is external, even political, and that are designed to show that the school is doing well at another school's expense. If proposed activities and purchases do not provide teachers with information they can use to better understand the academic performance of students and to change practice, then they are peripheral and are not shaping a culture that supports accountability work.