September 8, 2010
TECHNOS QUARTERLY Spring 2002 Vol. 11 No. 1
What is “accountability” in education?
U.S. Department of Education, House-Senate Education Conference Report:
No Child Left Behind:
http://www.ed.gov/PressReleases/12-2001/12112001b.html
U.S. Department of Education, Overview of ED Programs and Services: http://www.ed.gov/about/programs.jsp
Office of the Comptroller General Report on Accountability in the K-12 Education System: http://www.bctf.bc.ca/publications/briefs/ocg/BriefingNotes.html
Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning (McREL): http://www.mcrel.org/about/index.asp
“McREL, located in Aurora, Colorado, is a private, nonprofit organization whose purpose is to improve education through applied research and development. McREL provides products and services, primarily for K-12 educators, to promote the best instructional practices in the classroom. Established in 1966, McREL maintains a staff of some 100 employees.”
National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing
(CRESST)
www.cse.ucla.edu
“… CRESST is a partnership of UCLA, the University of Colorado, Stanford University, RAND, the University of Pittsburgh, the University of Southern California, Educational Testing Service, and the University of Cambridge, United Kingdom. The CRESST mission focuses on the assessment of educational quality, addressing persistent problems in the design and use of assessment systems to serve multiple purposes.”
NOTE: Co-directed by Eva L. Baker, Joan L. Herman, and Robert Linn; associate director, Daniel Koretz
Thomas B. Fordham Foundation: http://www.edexcellence.net/topics/standards.html
“Standards, Testing, and Accountability” page
“The Thomas B. Fordham Foundation supports research, publications, and action projects of national significance in elementary/secondary education reform, as well as significant education reform projects in Dayton, Ohio, and vicinity. It has assumed the work of the Educational Excellence Network and is affiliated with the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, [“a think tank whose mission is to develop and disseminate new ideas that foster greater economic choice and individual responsibility.”] (The Foundation is neither connected with nor sponsored by Fordham University.)
NOTE: This site and its links provide mostly conservative viewpoints on accountability in education, including standardized testing.
eSchool News online
http://www.eschoolnews.com/
“Where K-12 Education and Technology Meet: Providing information on the effective acquisition and use of technology to improve K-12 education”
NOTE: More than just accountability information included here.
University of Minnesota College of Education and Human Development, Office
of Educational Accountability:
http://www.education.umn.edu/oea/
A useful Web site for parents, teachers, administrators, policymakers, and other concerned individuals. Sections include: OEA Reports, Best Practices pages (information on current educational practices throughout the State of Minnesota and the nation); Faculty Lounge, a forum for discussion of educational accountability issues and current education practice; a Higher Education Resource Group for information and contacts (featuring advisors and consultants to Minnesota K-12 schools on issues having to do with educational assessment and accountability); Links to Minnesota Department of Children, Families, and Learning Web pages (Continuous Improvement, CFL Data Center, and the Minnesota Statewide Testing Database).
NOTE: This site is administered by the University of Minnesota. It is one of many useful state education Web sites available, including, but not limited to, the following:
Colorado Department of Education: http://www.cde.state.co.us/index_assess.htm
“Student Assessment page”
Georgia Department of Education, Office of Education Accountability:
http://www.ga-oea.org
“Office of Education Accountability” page
Idaho State Board of Education Achievement Standards: http://www.idahoachieves.com/
“Achievement Standards” page
Maryland State Department of Education:
http://msp.msde.state.md.us/
“Maryland School Performance Report: State, Systems, and Schools”
page
New Mexico State Department of Education:
http://www.sde.state.nm.us/
“On March 1, 2002, the New Mexico State Board of Education adopted accountability
regulations for New Mexico public schools, including charter schools.”
[includes links to PDF files of reports]
North Carolina Public Schools:
http://www.dpi.state.nc.us/abcs/
“The ABCs of Public Education” page
Tennessee - Education:
http://www.state.tn.us/education/mstat.htm
“Statistics and Reports” page