High School Accountability Means the Personal Development and Academic Achievement of All Students

The present renewed emphasis for accountability in our high schools across the United States follows rather closely on "a nation at risk Report" in 1983 of our failing schools. Here the rather exclusive emphasis on academic achievement fails to recognize the critical importance of personal development of students as the only basis for academic achievement (Cassel, 1996). There must be personal development before you can have academic achievement, and there simply is no exception to this basic rule. The effective learning of college preparation subjects like algebra, physics, chemistry, and even history and the social science requires a rather fully functioning individual. Global Functioning Concept In 1987 The American Psychiatric Association introduced the "global functioning" concept as a very basic element in relation to the functioning of individuals, and where learning is clearly involved. The concept was discussed in some detail in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (Third Edition Revised) (1987). It was the product of 26 Advisory Committees where the focus was on identifying the major childhood and adolescent behavior disorders and how they affected the productivity and learning of individuals. Three national field trials were conducted to help in the development of diagnostic criteria for identifying the malfunctioning of individuals, and which included learning. The Global Assessment of Functioning Scale (GAF) was developed and used as a basic diagnostic factor in relation to the present health and welfare of individuals. It is a five point scale with the "5" representing full "global functioning," a "3" average, and a (1) an absence of "global functioning." The use of that scale from 1987 (DSM-III-R) to the present day remains a basic element in understanding the fullness of functioning of individuals around the world. The new DSM-IV (1994) re-emphasized the importance of the Global Functioning concept. There is an urgent need for a test to give meaning to the dynamics involved in "global functioning." Personal Development Essential The one million high school drop out students presently in the prisons of our nation show a general absence of "global function" and personal development in comparison to typical high school students. These are the same individuals who were in our high schools across our nation during the "nation at risk" report in 1983. About 80 percent of those inmates are typically addicted to the use of alcohol and/or drugs. The cost for each one of those inmates is staggering (In California in excess of $35,000 annually), and with a recitivist rate of maybe 65%; meaning that such individuals are a loss to society and families. Accountability in our high schools must include the personal development of students if we are to prevent such student dropouts in the future, and reduce our prison population (Cassel, 2000, 2001a, and 2001b). Critical High School Years The typical high school student enters 9th grade, the beginning of high school, shortly after reaching age 14; early in adolescent development. This is the period when our youth are trying to make a transition from youth to adult roles in our society. The high school program is intended to help build a satisfactory bridge between the home and the work place or college. The single factor that makes a difference in relation to high school learning, and which is necessary for later success in life, is the students' personal development. High school accountability must include the personal development of students, which is the best delinquency and crime prevention possible, and the only way to increase academic achievement. You simply can not have high school accountability without having student personal development. The Personal Development Test (PDT) The Personal Development Test (PDT) (Cassel & Chow, 2001) is designed to assess the "Global Functioning" of students, and to measure the Personal Development in students. …