High-Stakes Accountability and Equity: Using Evidence From California’s Public Schools Accountability Act to Address the Issues in Williams v. State of California

Abstract

In May 2000, a class action lawsuit on behalf of California’s public school students, Williams v. State of California, was filed in state court in an effort to make the state address inequities in its public schools. The central issue of the case was students’ access to the “bare essentials” of public education: qualified teachers, current textbooks, and adequate and safe facilities. The author analyzes the relationship between school and district characteristics and the base year of the Academic Performance Index (API), the state’s main measure of school performance, focusing on variables related to the main issues in the Williams case. The findings support the plaintiffs’ arguments that the basic educational necessities targeted by the case should be the object of state policy in conjunction with accountability policies.

An Analysis of Accountability Policies in Finland and the United States

“…Under-achieving students in the U.S. tend to be located in states that spend less on education, in districts and schools that have fewer resources, or in classrooms that offer fewer resources than other classrooms in the school (e.g., credentialed teachers, challenging curriculum) (Rothstein, 2000). Similarly, Powers (2004) examined school and school district characteristics (i.e., teacher characteristics, facilities, textbook spending) against California's measure of school performance. Powers found that resources and school performance are positively correlated.…”

Efficiency, equity and girls' education

“…The specific measures that are rewarded are chosen by political processes, so these policies typically make schools accountable to specific populations (Levin, 1974). The effects of accountability on equity can be positive or negative (Lee and Wong, 2004;Powers, 2004). If funding is tied specifically to efforts to expand girls' education, competitive funding processes could create an incentive to improve equity.…”

Accountability policies and teachers' acceptance and usage of school performance feedback – a comparative study

“…Other authors think that it is also highly questionable if state-mandated tests are able to measure quality educational goals in the state standards (e.g., Resnick, Rothman, Slattery, & Vranek, 2003). In the USA, there are also severe concerns that standards and assessment discriminate against economically disadvantaged students and minority groups, above all as a result of the 2002 No Child Left Behind legislation (Clotfelder & Ladd, 1996;Darling-Hammond, 1994;Hursh, 2007;Powers, 2007).…”