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January 15, 2002
Accountability: Meeting The Challenge With Technology (con'td)
Not Just the Scores
Of course, accountability is not just about test scores or other forms of assessment. The California School Accountability Report Cards, for example, must contain data in a variety of other areas, including dropout and graduation rates; estimated expenditures per pupil; instructional minutes per year in a variety of subject areas; class size data; safety plan updates; salaries for teachers and administrators; and numbers of teachers teaching with credentials, emergency credentials, or waivers.
Similarly, in its report cards for the state of Arizona, the Great Schools Web site includes such information as teachers' level of education; honors earned by students and schools; how classroom enhancement funds are being used; and a list of accomplishments from the school's point of view (for example, a 96 percent reduction in tardiness or the implementation of a new program in a particular subject area).
In a recent workshop on accountability at the Technology & Learning Leadership Institute, Superintendent Amato led participants through the data mining process using information from a number of sources other than achievement scores. A few examples included:
 We live in a time when the business of schooling has a new storefront called the World Wide Web. We have the opportunity to showcase what is actually happening in our classrooms, to paint a full-color picture with rich color and texture.
ęDavid Warlick, director, The Landmark Project |
Lost time analysis. - A close look revealed that certain employees were missing an unexpectedly high number of days and that student absences were correlated with how frequently their teachers were absent.
CEU Offerings. - Amato finds it helpful to examine how closely the professional growth offerings of the district match the improvement goals that have been set-and to reevaluate when there is a major discrepancy.
Library and Instructional Materials in Use. - Here, again, it is helpful to examine whether the richest and most accessible resources are available for the curriculum areas where the need is the greatest.
Teacher Evaluations by Principals. Identifying situations in which administrators at low-performing schools evaluate their teachers as highly effective opens up an important dialogue about the evaluation process and ways to rethink goal-setting for teachers.
Suspensions, Expulsions, and Disciplinary Offenses. One of Amato's greatest concerns when he assumed the Hartford superintendency was the district's high expulsion rate. After new policies were implemented, data analysis showed that expulsions went way down, while other disciplinary interventions-which worked with, rather than gave up on, students-were up instead.
Just as districts all over the country are working hard to apply state standards and assessment approaches to their own unique setting and needs, many are experimenting with their own ways of reporting information to the community via the Internet. As Technology & Learning Leadership Institute presenter David Warlick puts it, "The accountability that will satisfy the community will be that which allows them to look over the shoulders of their students and see what they are learning, how they are learning, and what they are doing with it." Technology, in its myriad forms, has the potential to offer this type of accountability and more.
Judy Salpeter is program chair for Technology & Learning Events and consulting editor for Technology & Learning magazine.
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