The state test score largely depends on student effort put forth in the classroom during the year. Lack of student effort, over which the teacher has minimal control, will certainly result in a poor test score. Business leaders have likened accountability in commerce to accountability in education. The comparison is spurious and very troubling. Business people can hand-pick their adult work force and terminate ineffective employees at will.
Teachers can do neither.
The accountability question mirrors the shift in our society away from individual responsibility. Everyone's a victim. It's easy to blame peer pressure, drugs, movies, music, teachers and principals for problems. It's convenient, but not responsible. Teachers are an especially easy target.